Strength
by Alia Rubrik
Summary: You'll never know true strength until you can watch the one you love, love another.
1. Chapter 1

**Ugh, it's been forever. It wasn't intentional, I swear. Life became very demanding and writing had to take a backburner. I have this new resolution where I try not to be an author's note whore, so I'll let you go now.**

**Dedication: xJustxAnotherxGirlx. Thank you so much for ideas with this one. Uni has turned my brain into a lumpy ball of goop, and you got rid of the lumpy part.**

**Standard Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape or form own Naruto or any of its respected characters, whether from the anime or manga. They are the property of one Masashi Kishimoto, and I utilise them purely for entertainment purposes. I do, however, own this story and any associated OC characters. So no stealing, please.**

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**Chapter 1**

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The dawn was soft and crisp as Hinata walked along the front porch of the Hyuuga compound. The sun was barely glinting above the horizon, creating a blue pastel sunrise. A few songbirds had awoken to share their tune with the sparse people who were awake, and their melody lilted along the soft breeze.

Hinata could feel the wind gently twining with the strands in her hair, softly tugging, as if trying to convince her to follow it.

But she stayed.

She stayed, because Naruto and Hanabi were due back from a month-long mission in another hour or so, and she was desperately trying to force courage into her body, so that she could accomplish what she, Sakura, Tenten and Ino had been meticulously planning for the past few months (she smiled at the fact that they'd only been _planning_ for a few months, though she had been _dreaming_ for as long as she could remember).

At nineteen, Hinata was probably the oldest Kunoichi in Konoha who had yet to have any form of romantic partnership with anyone. Sasuke had finally removed some of the stick from his arse and asked Sakura out (Hinata had never seen the roseate so ecstatic), Tenten had started a tentative relationship with Lee and Ino had convinced Sai to explore the frightening world of dating (where Ino had found the patience to tackle someone like _Sai_ was beyond anyone's comprehension).

The indigo-haired girl very nearly smiled at the irony that out of everyone in Konoha, Naruto was probably the only one oblivious to her feelings. She was sure that even the rats must have known by now. And everyone seemed to be behind her in trying to help him figure it out. Ayame from Ichiraku's Ramen, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Tenten, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sai, Kakashi, Kurenai and even Lee. She didn't understand how Naruto hadn't figured it out after Lee's not-so-subtle proclamation before he left.

"_Naruto-kun! Konoha's beautiful Hyuuga heiress, Hinata, has been pining for you since you were small children barely about to embark upon your road of youth! Her love for you is the equivalent of mine for Konoha's beautiful bunned weapon's mistress, and we all wish for you to give her a chance!"_

But typical Naruto has grunted out an _"Eh?"_ then smiled and waved as he walked out of the gates.

Hell, they'd even enlisted the help of Hanabi. Hanabi would be on a mission with him for _a whole month!_ And Hanabi, being ever blunt and straight-to-the-point surely couldn't fail.

Hinata prayed that it would work. She prayed that Naruto would finally give her a chance, even if it didn't work out. At least she would know, that way.

Somewhere within the Hyuuga compound a bell struck _6:30am_, and Hinata raced towards the front gates, determined to wait for him. She had it all planned out in her head.

Naruto would walk through the Konoha gates, and she would take a deep breath and fight against her frail nerves. She would walk up to him, preferably the image of confidence, and say, _"Naruto-kun, I really like you, and I would be honoured if you would go on a date with me."_

Surely even one as dense as Naruto wouldn't be able to misinterpret those words? No, not even he could. She'd spent hours that night tossing the sentence over and over in her mind, looking for some kind of double meaning, some way he might not get the message. Hinata had spent hours practising in front of her mirror, trying to get it right, trying to get her actions and everything _right_.

"_N-Naruto-kun."_

_Blush._

_Nervously tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear._

"_I really like you, and I would be honoured if you would go on a date with me."_

No question, as that might give him a bigger incentive to decline. Blush on the cheeks and a slight stammer, slight waver to show nervousness. Smile to show truthfulness. Look him straight in the eyes as she says 'you would go on a date with me.'

She'd posed it to her friends, her teammates, everyone she could think of, and every single one of them had agreed that there was probably no other way to say it bluntly and politely. She just hoped it would work.

Minutes dwindled by, and Hinata could feel her nerves desperately fighting her consciousness. She _had_ to stay awake for this! It was probably one of the most terrifying things she'd ever experienced (not even when she had stood up to Pein had she been so frightened) and now she just wished for him to arrive so that she could ask him.

In the distance, she was barely able to make out two hazy figures walking casually towards Konoha.

Her heart jumped into her mouth as she recognised the signature golden hair and blinding jumpsuit of Naruto. Her sister's raven hair danced in her peripherals, but she didn't pay attention to that. She was focused entirely on Naruto.

It felt like _gravity_.

She couldn't understand her need to be with him. She spent her days watching his smile, hoping only for two things: that he would smile at her, and she would be the reason it was there.

His smile was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

As Naruto and Hanabi drew closer to the gate, a disturbing sense of premonition washed over her, almost making her knees buckle.

_Run, Hinata! Run!_

But she couldn't run. She felt as if her life had been leading up to this one single moment. She was rooted to the spot in every sense of the word, unable to take her eyes off those two people.

But something didn't add up. Something was wrong with the picture. Something was _very_ wrong with the picture. She couldn't see it, but she could sense it. Something apart from nerves had her heartbeat speeding up and had her breath catching in her throat. Something was wrong, so _why couldn't she see it?_ She scoured his image, looking for fatal wounds, lack of colour in his cheeks, a dark look on his face, trying to figure out what was wrong.

But he seemed perfectly healthy. There, his rambunctious laughter had just wafted over to her, and she could see a smile lighting up his face at something Hanabi had said.

And then, she realised what was wrong.

His hand.

His hand was linked with Hanabi's. Not in the _'supporting you'_ or the _'leading you'_ sort of way. It was the fingers threaded through each other's way. It was the _'I'm holding on to you and not letting you go'_ kind of holding hands. It was the way she'd seen Sasuke and Sakura hold hands as they walked down the street. It was the way she'd seen Ino teaching Sai, and the way she'd seen Lee dragging Tenten. It was the holding hands she'd seen old married couples do, or newlyweds, or love-sick teenagers who were holding on to that one little moment.

Hinata felt her heart drop and fear lodge itself in her throat. She felt her teeth chattering, though it wasn't really cold, and a weird feeling of hollowness devour her. She felt _numb_.

"Hey Hinata!" She vaguely registered that Naruto had called out to her, and was dragging Hanabi with him. _Kami, please have him let go of her hand. Please let it be a joke. Please don't do this to me. Please please please please please please please… _"Are you alright, Hinata? You look a little pale."

She felt her head nod of its own accord, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would probably puke.

He leaned closer towards her ear, but Hinata was still so shocked that her mind didn't even register it. "I hope this doesn't become awkward, Hinata-chan. I mean, I know she's your sister, but over the mission we really got to know each other and I really like her."

_I really like her._

_I really like _her.

_Not you._

_Never you._

Some part of her brain registered that they had walked away, and a huge gasping breath was hauled into her lungs as pain lanced through her chest.

_Hanabi, what have you done?_

_Why?_

Tears pricked at the rims of her eyes, and she venomously rubbed them away, willing her legs to stay up. What was happening? Why had Naruto done this to her? Why had _Hanabi_ done this to her? She had known of Hinata's feelings for Naruto since they were little girls. So why had she done this? Why would she be so cruel?

She felt her legs move of their own accord and flee into the trees where no one could see how much she was hurting. Her chest felt like it had suddenly imploded, and it was all she could do to keep breathing.

Eventually her legs wouldn't take her any further, and she collapsed on a sturdy branch, curling in on herself and gently rocking back and forth, desperately trying to hold herself together.

She couldn't help but wish that the arms clamped around her middle were Naruto's arms.

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**Strength**

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People often described Hinata as weak. Her father had described her as such when she trained arduously with minimal results. Fellow ninjas described her as such when she got overly emotional during a mission.

_Hinata, you are a ninja! Stop giving in to your emotions and toughen up!_

Hinata had never really felt weak until that moment. When she got overly emotional, she felt closer to her mother, who had been described as _too caring_. She didn't feel weak just because she had to train harder to achieve something. That just meant that when she did achieve it, it was through hours of work and dedication, not prodigal enhancement.

But there on that branch as her tears slipped through the crevices in her fingertips, she felt weaker than a newborn against a pack of wolves.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that she felt her tear reserves had dried up and she was able to walk back to the compound. Hopefully Kami would take a bit of pity on her and allow her to walk through the village without seeing anyone she knew.

It seemed Kami was having an absolute field day.

"Hinata!" She cringed as Sakura's voice called out to her, and desperately tried to ignore the voice of her upbringing demanding that she acknowledge the roseate. She just wanted to be alone for the day.

"Hey, Hinata, wait up!" Sakura was far closer than Hinata had anticipated, and within a few seconds Hinata was looking at Sakura's feet: she refused to look up and meet her eyes.

"Sakura-san," Hinata acknowledged quietly, then tried to push past her.

"How'd it go, Hinata?" Sakura asked and fell into step beside her indigo-haired friend. Hinata felt a shudder crawl up her spine as unwanted memories came back to her.

_I really like _her.

Hinata shrugged and kept walking, fighting to push down the rush of panic that threatened to overwhelm her. She could not fall apart in public!

They made it back to the compound without another word said between them, though Hinata could feel Sakura's emerald eyes watching her carefully. For all the anger that Hinata felt at having someone watch her whilst she was being so weak, she felt grateful that it was Sakura, and not someone who would ridicule her for it. At least Sakura understood. At least she would know what to say.

Her room was dark when she entered, and she didn't bother lifting up the curtains to allow sunlight in. She walked straight to her bed and collapsed on it, not caring what Sakura may think. A moment later she heard the door close quietly and felt a slight dip in the mattress as Sakura sat down.

"What happened, sweetie?"

Hinata let out a muffled groan and turned away. Seems she had more than one tear reserve after all.

"Sakura," Hinata eventually whispered. "What did you do when Sasuke started dating Karin that time?"

Sakura rested her hand on Hinata's shoulder and sighed. "It felt like my gut had been wrenched from my body. Every time I saw them together I felt like I couldn't breathe properly. What did I do? I didn't do anything, really. I thought to myself: 'If Sasuke finds happiness in her, then who am I to try and ruin that?' I just tried to be a friend to him. Lucky for me, he dumped Karin and chose me instead. He said something like 'she was too demanding'. Hinata, what happened?"

A sob choked itself from Hinata's throat and she sat up to face Sakura, her eyes puffy and red-rimmed with tears. "He… he chose…" Hinata gulped, knowing that saying it would confirm its reality. "He's dating Hanabi. During their mission they… they must've gotten close or something, because he's _dating_ her." She rested her head against Sakura's shoulder and let the floodgates open once more.

She felt Sakura tense up as soon as she finished speaking and a growl ripped from her throat. "I'm gonna beat that _baka_ into the next fucking century," she hissed, then pulled Hinata around into an embrace. "I'm so sorry, Hinata. He's such a clueless idiot, and your sister… I don't know what the hell she's thinking, but I'll slap her or something for you, alright?"

"Please don't," Hinata said. "I want to talk to her."

She felt Sakura sigh again, then nod hesitantly.

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It was nearing midnight when Hinata finally braved Hanabi. She quietly crept into her room and sat on her bed, shaking her awake less gently than she generally would have. A sleepy groan fell from Hanabi's lips, and she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Hinata, what are you doing here? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Why did you do it?" Hinata questioned, cursing the slight waver that still resonated in her tone. "Why would you do that to me? I've been in love with him since before you could even walk. I just… I can't comprehend why you would be so nasty and take him from me. I never even got a _chance,_ Hanabi! Why couldn't you have helped me – just once? _Why?"_

Hanabi groaned and fell back onto her pillows. "Geeze Hinata, let it go."

"_Let it go?"_ Hinata hissed. "I _begged_ you to help me. You know how much I've loved him. You _know_ how badly I wished that I could just get a _chance_ with him. Why would you go off and… and _date_ him, _steal_ him, right under my nose? You've never even looked twice at him before now. You've sneered at him, called him names, classified him as a _stupid moron with too much chakra and not enough brains to control it._ Remember that? That's what you described him as when I asked you to help me; when you said that you didn't even know why I loved him. What the hell are you up to?"

Hanabi groaned again and sat up to stare her sister right in the eye. "Maybe now you know what it's like to have something you deserve taken from you because of something as stupid as _I got there first._"

Hinata blanched, at first unsure about what Hanabi was talking about. "Are you talking about you being a branch member?"

"What was your first clue?" Hanabi bit back.

Hinata tried to sift through her thoughts. "Gods Hanabi, I didn't choose to be the Head. I'd give that title to you in a heartbeat if I could, just please don't do this to me."

"When you become Head, they'll force you into an arranged marriage anyway, with someone else from the Clan. You should thank me: I'm saving you from more heartbreak in the future."

Hinata closed her eyes and forced back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her, before standing up and leaving the room. She couldn't handle any more. She couldn't bear it! She couldn't bear the idea of Naruto holding another girl, kissing another girl, _being_ with another girl. It was too much; too painful; too _real._

The next morning, Hinata made a bee-line straight for the Hokage tower.

"Kakashi-sama," she said politely upon entrance to the Hokage's room. "I was wondering if there were any long missions, preferably one that goes for at least a month, and one that is far outside of Konoha."

Kakashi stared at the young Hyuuga girl with his lone dark eye, curious as to what had caused her to ask such an odd question.

"I _do_ have one," he said slowly, and reached down to retrieve a folder from beneath his desk. "It's a solo, and not so much a mission as being a helper. You have basic medic training, don't you?"

"Hai."

"I was going to send Sakura on this one. Suna is requesting a medic to help train the influx of new trainees."

"I can do it, Hokage-sama. I don't know many of the more advanced techniques, but I know how to learn them."

Kakashi narrowed his eye. "The mission is for six months, Hinata. Solo. You barely know anyone in Suna."

"I really need this, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi quelled his curiosity. If the Hyuuga girl wanted to go to Suna, then she was within her rights to. Sakura was more qualified, sure, but Hinata had the ability to teach and learn. Plus, she had the patience which Sakura unfortunately lacked to deal with annoying, pubescent teenagers.

"You leave at midday. Dismissed."

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**If you happen to favourite this story, I would love you forever if you could please leave a review. Novel-sized or one worded; praise or constructive criticism; good grammar or scarce grasp of the English language – I'd love to hear it! That is my one request of you.**

**Before anyone mentions it, I am completely aware that Hanabi is five years younger than Hinata. Unfortunately for this story it is necessary that she be three years younger instead, so let's just pretend that she's sixteen instead of thirteen, yeah? Thank you :)**

**One last bit of information, this story is set in a Narutoverse where The Last movie didn't happen. So though everyone is at the appropriate age, Toneri won't be randomly rocking up.**

**I'll be updating on Sunday every fortnight. I wish I could give you more, but I honestly don't have the time anymore, so I apologise for that.**

**Much love, Sapphire xox**


	2. Chapter 2

**Stupid Joke Sunday: What's Whitney Houston's favourite type of coordination?**

**A: HAAANNNNNNNDDDDD EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYEEEEEE**

**Btw I'm hilarious. If you couldn't already tell. *strikes pose***

**Thank you so much to the wonderful people who left me a review. I love you all so so so much.**

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**Chapter 2**

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The desert sun beat down on Hinata's back, causing sweat to drip into her eyes and her hair to stick uncomfortably to the back of her neck. Sunagakure appeared to be a dull fuzz on the horizon, and she judged that she was maybe two, three hours away. Pushing a bit more chakra into her legs, she forced herself to move faster. Within two hours, she walked, exhausted, through the passageway into the sand city.

Temari, standing at a distance from the entrance, walked casually towards Hinata. "Gaara couldn't come to greet you personally," she said, "so I'm here instead."

Hinata inclined her head in greeting. "It's good to see you too, Temari-san. It has been a while."

Temari huffed her agreement. "I'll show you to the hospital and where you'll be staying for the next few months. Follow me." She turned on her heel, leaving Hinata to hurry after her.

The sand city was bigger than Hinata remembered, but still as dry and hot. She supposed that it had been a good number of years since she had come here, and they had probably had to keep building bigger and bigger to meet population demands. She wondered how such large structures were able to stay together, when they seemed to be made completely from sand. Surely, considering the amount of storms that would wipe through here, most of the buildings would fall over? _They're probably held together with a fair bit of chakra,_ she conceded, once again hurrying to catch up with Temari. The older girl was taller than Hinata, hence her strides were a fair bit longer.

It didn't take long for them to reach, what appeared to Hinata, as a small, circular courtyard, with maybe a dozen houses, built in the Sunagakure style, encircling what appeared to be a small decorative garden built in the middle of a clay path.

"You'll be living in number four," said Temari walking about until she reached the fourth house on the right. "This is where important visitors to Sunagakure stay while with us. I'll give you a moment to put down your things, and then we'll go to the hospital. Be quick, I've got a few more errands to run after this and daylight is fading."

Hinata nodded her head, then ducked into the house, sparing a moment to have a look around.

It was as big as a one-bedroom apartment, with a small bedroom, en suite, handkerchief dining room and kitchen, and a small laundry towards the rear of the house. It was far simpler than the grand Hyuuga compound that Hinata had grown use to, but she found that she liked this small simplicity far better than her normal unnecessary extravagance. It seemed to… suit her better, in a way.

"Hurry up," Temari called. "I've got things to do and you still don't know where the hospital is."

Hinata dropped her bag on the end of the bed, then darted outside quickly. Temari wasted no time in heading towards the hospital.

It was only a short walk from Hinata's new house to the hospital, which suited Hinata perfectly. But when she got her first view of her new work, she couldn't help but notice just how small it was, especially in comparison to Konoha's enormous building. Where Konoha's hospital was at least five stories above ground, Suna's was only three, and took up probably only half the area. It was round, in the same typical Sunagakure style that all the other buildings possessed.

Inside it was chaotic, and it was immediately apparent to Hinata why Suna would require more staff. Doctors and nurses were scurrying about everywhere, a look of almost panic in their eyes as they tried to reach their next patient. Hinata could hear Temari call out, "Ren! Get over here!" and within moments a middle aged man with brown eyes and red hair came staggering forward.

"What can I do for you, Temari-san?" he asked, his voice polite, if a little strained with stress.

"This is Hinata," Temari replied, pushing Hinata forward roughly. "She's the medic-nin from Konoha who's come here to train the new people. I've got to get going, so I'll need you to show her around." And with a wave and a nod, she turned on her heel and left Ren gaping at her retreating back. He managed to compose himself a few moments later, and turned to grin sheepishly at Hinata.

"It seems that everyone's pretty busy today," he said, his voice apologetic. "I think I can spare five minutes though. What's your name again?" He turned on his heel and motioned for Hinata to follow him.

"Hyuuga Hinata," she replied, looking about her in wonder and not a bit of fear.

Ren nodded, as if that somehow didn't surprise him. "I thought you were a Hyuuga. The eyes give you away." He pointed to his own eye, a light smile on his face. "Anyway." He came to a standstill outside a small room where two desks had been unceremoniously squeezed in. "This will be your office. The woman you'll be sharing it with is called Mami. She's nice enough, but be careful, she'll talk your ear off if you let her. Your desk is the one on the right. All lesson plans and everything should be in the drawers, but if they're not I'll be happy to print one out for you."

Hinata smiled at him in gratitude. "Thank you, Ren-san," she said, then continued to follow him as he started walking down a hallway.

"This room here," he said, opening the door of a dimly lit classroom, "is where you'll be teaching your students. We have a good haul this time – fifteen pupils all up. But many of them will probably fail. Consider it a great success if you have seven students by the end of the six months, and don't be afraid to fail anyone. The hospital would rather have a small group of skilled medics than a large amount of poor ones."

Hinata nodded in understanding, then listened attentively as Ren continued speaking.

"As you probably saw before you came in, the hospital has only three floors. Each is designated for a particular purpose, and you shouldn't go on to any floors without proper clearance, except the first floor: the one we're on now." He began to walk back to the entrance, and Hinata kept pace alongside him.

"This first floor is where almost all injuries go and where we see to the general public. Anyone who has a non-life threatening disease, whether it's contagious or not, is treated down here, so any flues or stomach bugs, you get the picture.

"The second floor is where we send all our ninjas who are returning from the field, whether they're injured or not. They may have brought home some illness or poison without realising it, and we'd rather be safe than sorry. Anyone who is severely injured, ninja or civilian, is taken to the second floor for treatment, and it is also where all operations are held.

"The third floor is where those who are terminally ill stay. Also, anyone who is under quarantine is held on the third floor.

"When your students are prepared, you'll start them on the first floor, giving immunisation shots and dressing wounds. Eventually, when you feel that they're ready, they'll go up to the second floor and see how to deal with major injuries and detect illnesses or poisons that leave next to no trace. We need you to be ruthless with these trainees, Hinata. Your tutelage could mean the difference between life and death for our ninjas."

With wide eyes, Hinata nodded her understanding once again, feeling, for the first time, the full weight of the task ahead of her. They arrived back at the reception desk, where a line was beginning to form.

"I have to get back to work, Hinata," Ren said kindly. "Here's your daily schedule. You'll be working six days a week, twelve hours a day. You start at seven, get a half hour break at twelve, and another half hour break at three. Today's Sunday, so you start tomorrow. Good luck, and I'll see you then."

He gave her a smile and a wave, then turned towards those in line, immediately animatedly finding out what they needed. Hinata's head was reeling with all the information that had just been rapidly fired at her and, almost dazedly, she walked towards where Ren had indicated her office, and sat down at her new chair, head in hands.

"I feel dizzy," she said quietly to herself, not sure if it was just her brain having a panic attack at all that information, or the heat, which left her mouth dry. Ignoring the sensation, she looked at her timetable, studying it a bit closer.

It seemed simple enough. She had every Sunday off, and worked from seven until seven from Monday to Saturday. Rifling through her drawers, she pulled out a sheet of paper that looked to basically outline everything she was meant to teach.

"The first month looks alright," Hinata muttered, eyes skimming the paper. "Just teaching them biology and anatomy." She had a feeling that a few people would drop out in those first few weeks, because it looked to be all theory-based work, and none of the exciting blood and gore stuff, which was why she suspected many of them had signed up in the first place.

Hinata folded the two pieces of paper neatly, then placed them in her pockets, before heading out into the scorching Suna heat. Realising that her cupboards would be bare at her new home, she decided to wander Suna for a while and buy some food.

The Suna markets comprised of about a dozen wooden stalls, with sellers calling out sales at the top of their lungs to uninterested passers-by. She, however, was fascinated. While Konoha had an entire street dedicated to shops overflowing with everything anyone could ever need, these ones seemed to have jumped right out of an old story book. It was bemusing, to say the least. She spent nearly an hour browsing the stalls and slowly taking her time to gauge what each was selling.

One sold fruits and vegetables, one sold salted and dried meats (_"Anything fresh would rot within an hour in this heat, miss!"_), another sold pottery, another fabrics and clothes, another had weapons, and it went on. Graciously, Hinata bought some food and some appropriate work clothes – there wasn't enough room in her pack to fit everything she needed – before heading home.

With a sigh of relief, Hinata dropped the bags on the small wooden table and flopped down into a chair. Kami, Suna was _hot._ She hadn't been fully prepared for the extent of the heat, and she felt a bit idiotic for not foreseeing that fact.

_You're in the middle of the desert, Hinata. What on earth did you expect? Warm climates and a cool breeze?_

Hinata rolled her eyes, before putting everything away.

After three days of travelling, she decided that an early dinner and straight to sleep would be the smartest course of action before starting her new job tomorrow. When she did finally curl up in bed, she fell asleep within moments of her head hitting the pillow.

* * *

With fifteen pairs of eyes staring at her, Hinata rose up on wobbly knees. She opened her mouth to introduce herself, but no sound came out. Cheeks flaming, she closed her eyes and willed herself not to be sick.

_Come on, Hinata! You have faced some of the most dangerous ninjas of all time, introducing yourself to a bunch of teenagers shouldn't be that hard!_

But it was excruciatingly difficult. Stand in front of Pein, the ninja who had single-handedly flattened her village? No problem. Stand in front of a room of teenagers? Problem.

Big problem.

Hinata gulped and took a big breath.

"Hellomyname'sHinata'ndI'llbeyourteacherforth'nextsixmonths."

If possible, she flushed an even brighter shade of red, and nearly buried her face in her hands in mortification.

The class remained silent, and when she looked at them, they just looked back at her confusedly.

Clearing her throat, she decided to try again. "Um… h-hi!" she plastered a smile on her face, but it felt more pained than welcoming. "My-my name is uh… um, my name is Hinata. And… and uh… for, um… for the next uh… six months… I'll be your ticker, I mean, um teacher! I'll, I'll be your teacher."

She began to dip her back in a bow, but realising that she was the one in charge and that that would be unnecessary she turned her dip into a swivel and looked at the chalk board.

This class was _exhausting._ She looked at the clock.

7:05am.

Five minutes down, seven hundred and fifteen more to go until the end of the day.

Hinata sighed, then went hunting for a piece of chalk. After a further few minutes of rummaging around, and growing ever more puce coloured, she found one, and resisted the urge to hold it up in triumph. By this stage her fifteen pupils were watching her with a fair bit of amusement. She just knew what they were thinking.

_This pathetic thing is supposed to prepare us and earn our respect? Are they serious?_

With shaking hands, Hinata wrote on the board:

**Anatomy and Biology**

"For," she squeaked, then cleared her throat again. "For… for, um… for the next uh… for the next month, I'll be… uh… teaching you all about… um…" she looked back at the board, "anatomy and biology. Anatomy and biology is… uh… it's, it's really important because… because, um… because if you want to um… to heal someone… uh… good… if you want to heal someone good – I mean, um, well, then you… uh… you need to know this… um… this stuff. Because it… um… because it teaches you… uh… stuff on um… stuff on the human body that is um… it's important, because if you want to heal someone good then you… uh… you need to know all about the body." She almost sighed in relief at having managed to force the words out. Whether the words actually made sense she almost didn't care. They were words, and they were said to a crowd of strangers, and that was the important part.

There was a knock at the door, and a girl around the age of fourteen stood there, looking incredulously at Hinata.

"I was going to ask what I missed, but apparently it wasn't much, considering what I just heard," the girl said, walking lazily towards her desk and dumping her bag on the ground, the back of one hand rubbing tiredly at her eyes.

Her words and actions made Hinata grit her teeth and turn humiliated tears into clenched fists full of anger. Who on earth did this girl think she was?

"Excuse me," Hinata said, attempting to sound calm and refusing to let her voice waver, "but this class only has fifteen students. I think you might be lost."

The girl smirked. "I enrolled late. Sorry sugar-queen, but I'm here to stay. Go on, continue with your muttering."

Using every muscle in her body, Hinata forced a smile on to her face. "You'll only stay if I let you. Please drop your attitude, otherwise I'll talk to the staff and ensure that you're not allowed to return."

Surprisingly, her nerves had been forgotten in wake of her anger. The new girl merely raised her brow again, but stayed quiet.

"I think that this is a good chance for everyone to introduce themselves. We'll go around the class, please state your name and why you're here."

Hinata wasn't quite certain if anger was the only fuel behind her sudden burst of confidence, but she liked it a lot. Hopefully it would continue for the rest of the day. As each person gave their name and reasons for being in the room, Hinata could feel the newcomer's unnaturally electric blue eyes boring in to her skull.

Lastly, it was the new girl's turn, and with undisguised arrogance in her tone, she said: "I'm here because I thought it might be interesting. My name is *Nise."

* * *

***Nise: pronounced "Nee-seh". Just in case, it does look like "Nice".**

**I feel like this chapter is boring. There was no way around that, I'm sorry. It is a very important chapter, I promise. Necessary filler, you could call it. I promise things pick up next chapter. Basic plot comes in to play, Gaara is introduced, y'know, stuff.**

**Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate it! Send me some love in the form of reviews? Platonic, romantic, I'm not picky. Send all the love! And if you favourite, please please please leave a review. They make me happy.**

**Much love, Sapphire xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Help! Uni has started again for the year! I'm meeeeellllllltiiiiinnnnnngggggg…**

**How on earth is this at 25 reviews already? Oh god I feel so spoiled right now!**

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* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 3**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Nearly the first month had passed since Hinata had arrived in Suna. Slowly, she was managing to gain more confidence when speaking to her class (no thanks to that brat, Nise), and she felt that maybe, just maybe, they could see that she knew what she was actually talking about.

As difficult as teaching a class of pubescent teenagers was (and as infuriating as that damned Nise could be), she was glad for the challenge. Not only was it keeping her mind off a certain sister and a certain blond, but she was learning a surprisingly large amount considering that she was the one who was meant to be teaching.

It was a Wednesday, and Hinata had spent the entire evening inside, revising the material that she would have to teach her students the coming day and adding the finishing touches to the exam that would mark the end of the anatomy and biology module. She had been reading since the moment she had walked in the door, and already the moon was shining in the middle of the sky. Her eyes were absolutely exhausted, and her brain had turned to putty. Deciding that it was time she gave herself a break for the night, she began making some dumplings for dinner. She still hadn't mastered the art of cooking, but she enjoyed it nevertheless. As she consumed her food, she decided that it didn't taste _too_ bad, and she might try making them again the next night.

But once she was finished, she felt _bored._ And there was no way, in this world or the next, she was going to be caught dead looking at her work again that night. She thought that maybe she should go to bed, but she was surprisingly not tired. Not in the slightest.

_I could always go out and explore Suna. I haven't seen very much of it since that first day,_ she thought. It could be dangerous at night, but if that meant not boring, then she'd take it. Rugging up (the desert was always cold at night) and arming herself, she stepped outside.

The air was frigid, but it helped clear her senses. Her brain seemed to perk up at the sudden cold and started working again. She walked away from her home and into the street.

Suna was very different at night, she observed. During the day, it almost seemed to glisten. The sunlight would reflect and dance off of the grains of sand, and the heat would glare at her, almost making every breath turn into a choking mass of hot air. At night time, however, it seemed very… still. Very mysterious. There were no clouds, so the moon shone out in full force, carpeting the sand in silvery waves. There was very little noise – any and all of it muffled voices from inside houses. Few animals could live out in the desert, so there were no singing crickets or cicadas. And there was no wind that night, so each sand granule stayed exactly in place, unless disturbed underfoot by Hinata.

It seemed almost deserted, and if it weren't for the occasional circular puddle of yellow light spilling out of small windows, Hinata could easily believe that it was.

It was getting late, Hinata was able to note, as more and more house lights slowly flickered off. She made the decision to turn home, but upon reaching that verdict, she discovered to her utter horror that she was hopelessly lost. A combination of the dark and Suna's winding narrow streets (and possibly her own reverie) had rendered her completely disoriented in the foreign surroundings. She turned a corner in hopes that it would lead her to someplace that she would deem familiar, but instead, she met the teal eyes of the Kazekage, Gaara.

He nodded at her in greeting, and she did just the same, trying desperately to hide her surprise at seeing the Kazekage in such odd circumstances. Hinata mostly knew Gaara through Naru – through _friends_, and had only ever exchanged a few words with him in her life.

"It's a cold night, what are you doing outside?" he asked her, and Hinata blanched, then flushed.

"J-just… taking a stroll?" she answered, though her sentence was more a question. "There isn't a curfew, is there? I hope I'm not breaking any rules by being outside," she said, an apology in her tone.

Gaara shook his head. "No, most people just don't go out at night. It's too cold."

Hinata nodded, shuffling her feet.

"How are you liking Suna? My apologies for being unable to meet you at the gate when you first arrived. The position of Kazekage can be quite demanding."

She nodded again, then said: "It's very hot. But… um… I do like it. It's very different to Konoha, but… but in a good way. Everyone is very nice," _except a certain student,_ she thought quietly to herself. "What are you doing outside?" she questioned, then blushed. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry, I just -"

"It's okay, don't apologise," Gaara interrupted, shaking his head. "I don't sleep very well. Old habits die hard. I enjoy seeing the city at night. I was going to go and pay my respects to Chiyo-baasama."

Hinata nodded again, beginning to feel a bit foolish. "Could… could I accompany you? It's just… I don't really know Suna very well, and I think I might be lost…"

"As long as you're okay with seeing a graveyard first."

Hinata felt a small tingle of fear run down her spine, but shook it off. What was there to be afraid of? Ghosts?

"I visit the graves of my mother and cousin a lot at home," Hinata said.

"Your cousin Neji?"

"Hm," she confirmed.

"He was an excellent ninja, taken before his time."

"He died for something that he believed in," Hinata replied, saddened by the memory. "And he died protecting me, something that I will never be able to repay."

"I do not think Neji would want you to be saddened by his sacrifice, but celebrate the life he lived," Gaara said wisely, something that made Hinata smile. "What was your mother's name?" he inquired, turning to look at her.

Hinata hesitated a moment, unsure if she wanted to talk about something so private and precious with a near stranger. But she remembered hearing that Gaara's mother had died giving birth to him and felt that maybe he would understand a little. "Hana," she said softly. "I was only four when she died. It was a very sudden disease. I didn't even realise she was sick. She was a good mother. I loved her dearly."

Gaara nodded in a shared understanding of lost mothers, and didn't pry further, something which Hinata was grateful for. Her mother was a touchy subject, and not one she spoke about a lot.

The Sunagakure cemetery was a large, quiet place on the outskirts of the village. Headstones stretched a good few hundred metres into the distance, the occasional one adorned with flowers. Hinata wondered who these people were. What was their story? How did they die?

"You bury your ninja alongside your civilians?" Hinata queried, surprised.

"Yes," Gaara answered. "Even in death, every person here was a citizen of Suna; each of them lived and died here. Death treats everyone equally, so there should be no difference in how they are buried."

Even if the custom was foreign to Hinata, it made sense to her in a strange way.

Gaara had evidently found Chiyo's grave, as he stayed standing in front of one, staring at it with a mixture of gratitude and sadness playing across his face.

Out of respect, Hinata decided to give him some time alone, and she began wandering through the graveyard, reading all the different names.

_Miyoko Kamiya  
Died aged 27  
Here we remember her  
A ninja of Sunagakure_

Hinata smiled sadly, and touched the headstone. A ninja, just like her.

_Eijiro Nii  
Died aged 3  
Here we remember him  
A citizen of Sunagakure_

Her heart actually began to break upon reading that headstone. A little boy, to have died so young? What could have done it? She could see that flowers were resting against the headstone, with a little card attached that read: _Eijiro, mummy will always love you, my little angel._ Hinata kept moving, holding back tears. She walked on, continuing through the graveyard. A name would occasionally jump out at her, and she would smile sadly, and hold back tears for all of the lives lost.

Deeper and deeper she wandered. Surely Gaara was finished by now? She looked around to find him, but one last name jumped out at her, one that rendered her speechless.

_Hana Hyuuga  
Died aged 26  
Here we remember her  
A citizen of Sunagakure_

Hana Hyuuga.

_Hana Hyuuga?_

Hinata's mother had a grave in Suna.

"Gaara!" Hinata screamed at the top of her lungs, horrified by the image in front of her. Within seconds, Gaara stood beside her, asking what was wrong.

"My… my mother! That's… that's my mother's name!" Hinata shrieked, her voice jumping instantly from shocked to hysterical. The information hit her like a sack of bricks, and she was left gasping for air, fighting the overwhelming urge to pass out. In a desperate effort to stay conscious, she began rambling.

"My mother is buried here! My mother can't be buried here! She died in Konoha! My mother died in Konoha, wife to the Head of the Hyuuga Clan, _why is she buried in Suna?_" Hinata was distraught, confused, upset. Tears had crept in to her eyes. "My mother died when she was twenty-five years of age. She died in Konoha. How is it possible for her grave to be here as well?"

Gaara was staring at her, and though he tried to let no emotion cloud his face, he couldn't help the bewildered expression that shrouded his eyes. He shook his head. "I don't know," he said, his voice soft, and Hinata wondered how he seemed so calm when her emotions raged like a confounding tempest inside her.

"My mother shouldn't have a grave in Suna, Gaara!" Hinata screamed, putting her hands against the side of her head in frustration, her fingers twisting like snakes in her hair and tugging at the strands. Despite her desperation to think rationally, her hysteria was incapacitating, drowning out any thought other than _how could my mother have a grave in Suna?_ It shouldn't have been possible, yet the truth of it stood engraved in cold stone before her swimming eyes.

Gaara grabbed a hold of Hinata's arms and shook her, jolting her out of her delirium.

"Hinata, calm down!" he urged, a hint of worry tinging his tone. "You need to calm down. I don't know why your mother has a grave here, but look: there's another name on the headstone," he said, pointing. Hinata looked through tear stained eyes and saw that he was, in fact, correct.

_Hinari Hyuuga  
Died at birth  
Here we remember her  
A citizen of Sunagakure_

Hinata's body went limp and she shuddered to the ground, unable to take her eyes away from the second name. All of the madness that had previously gripped her had been doused, and shock crept into her body like a slow, paralysing wave. It felt like a punch to the gut, and she struggled to breathe.

"A… a sister?" she eventually managed to whisper, the word sounding unnatural on her tongue. "Another sister?" She turned to look at Gaara, as if by some miracle he could provide an answer.

Gaara stared back at her, his arms crossed in front of his chest, face an unfathomable cacophony of masked emotions. Confusion and curiosity worried at a crease in his brow. Eventually he said: "You should go home and sleep. I'm sure you can find records somewhere."

"Where would I look?" she asked, her voice soft.

He knelt down beside her, staring intently at the grave marker. She could almost hear his brain working overtime. "The headstone says that Hinari died at birth," he said eventually, seeming to choose his words carefully. "As they share a headstone, I would assume that your mother probably died giving birth. There should be birth and death records kept at the hospital. Look for ones dating just over ten years ago. There's bound to be something."

Hinata just nodded her head absent-mindedly, still processing the information. Gaara gently grabbed under one of her arms and pulled her to her feet. She followed him, unresisting. Hinata didn't pay attention to where he led her. She focused on his hand clamped in a firm but gentle manner around her arm and used it like an anchor, grounding herself in consciousness. Before long she was standing outside her front door.

She was able to remember her upbringing just in time to say thank you and apologise for her behaviour (though Gaara quickly shook away her apologies, reasoning that anyone would have reacted the same). She felt a warm feeling of gratitude seep through her.

"If you find anything, tell me. You have made me curious," he said to her. "Try to sleep. I can't have my guests fainting from exhaustion." He then turned on his heel and left her standing outside her front door. She quickly unlocked it and went inside, leaning against the door.

Though the past hour's events had left her emotionally exhausted, Hinata was unable to sleep. She tossed and turned restlessly the whole night, questions flitting through her mind as she tried to rationalise with herself. Could it have been her mother? She was certain that her mother could not have been the only Hyuuga to bear the name Hana. But then again, the disease that had taken her had come so suddenly…

The moment the sun crested over the waves of sand, Hinata left for the hospital.

It was only an hour until she was supposed to teach her class, but Hinata made a beeline straight for the front desk, where Ren was standing, wiping sleep out of his eyes.

"G'morning, Hinata-san," he said with a yawn when she arrived in front of him. "What can I do for you this fine morning?"

Hinata smiled and bowed lightly. "Good morning, Ren-san. I was wondering, if it's possible, for me to browse through the hospital's death certificates from around fourteen years ago? I just discovered something very interesting last night and I need to investigate."

Ren looked at her, his persistent friendliness shining from his eyes.

"As a member of staff, you do have access to all the birth and death records," he said. "Go down the corridor and take the first right, then the second left. Go down the stairs, and the first landing holds all the records."

Hinata looked at him with surprise. "I thought you said the hospital only had three floors?" she asked, suddenly curious.

Ren shrugged. "We have two floors below ground. The first floor holds all the records and the second is the morgue. As you won't be working on either of those floors I just didn't feel it was important to tell you."

Hinata nodded her understanding. "Thank you for your help, Ren." And then she turned on her heel, a spark of determination in her eyes that hadn't been there in weeks.

* * *

**And so the plot thickens! We got to see a bit of Gaara, I hope you all liked that. He will be included a lot more from here on out. They are, in every sense of the word, strangers at this point in time. But this story is under the romance tag for a reason, so fret not ;)**

**Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review, especially if you decide to favourite. I like being able to recognise the names of those who favourite my stories :)**

**\- SapphireRivulet xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Uni is a giant piece of poo. For one class, I have **_**nine**_** assignments. Nine! Ugh, this isn't okay. I'm considering changing to an update once a week, as it doesn't look like my other story will be posted any time soon. What do you all think?**

**Infinite thank yous to those who reviewed, I give you love and chocolates and all things yummy.**

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* * *

**Chapter 4**

The archives resembled a vast library, with files, small and large, being held in cabinets ordered by name and date. A lone man, with wrinkles creasing his skin and glasses perched on a long nose sat at a desk, writing something on a piece of parchment.

"Uh, excuse me?" Hinata said quietly in an effort to garner his attention. The man stuck up a finger in a silent gesture asking her to wait, and continued writing. Hinata bounced quietly on the balls of her feet, trying to not let her mind think of the time. She had gotten lost a few times, and hence had only forty-five minutes remaining before she was due to start teaching again.

What felt like aeons, but was probably only moments later, the old man raised his eyes in curiosity to Hinata, a silent question emanating from them.

"I um… I was wondering if it was p-possible," she stuttered, feeling her face heating up in slight humiliation. _Damn this cursed stutter,_ she thought. "C-could I look at the birth and d-death records from fourteen years ag-go?" She closed her eyes, annoyance with herself winning out. She had barely stuttered in weeks, and yet here she was, her nerves raking themselves through her body, displaying themselves in their most patronising form: her stammer.

But the man just smiled kindly and nodded his head. "Anyone in particular you're looking for, miss?" he asked, his voice wheezy in old age.

Hinata nodded, taking a slow breath to compose herself. "A woman by the name of Hyuuga Hana, and if possible, someone else by the n-name of Hyuuga H-Hinari." She cursed her stutter quietly as the old man stood and wandered into the depths of the archives.

Hinata's eyes didn't leave the clock for the full fifteen minutes it took for the old man to return, and he handed her two small files with a kind smile.

Hinata thanked him, then sank down onto a nearby metal bench. Slowly, her hand quaking, Hinata opened the file that had her mother's name labelled in bold script.

There was a photo, and Hinata recognised her instantly from the old photos that her father sometimes kept dotted around the house.

_It was without a doubt her mother._

Her eyes slowly perused over the rest of the information.

_Name: Hyuuga, Hana  
Sex: Female  
Cause of Death: Cardiac Arrest during Childbirth  
Time and Date of Death: April 3__rd__, 17:26pm  
Age: Twenty-six  
Family: No Information  
Duration of Sunagakure Residency: Four Months  
Occupation: Medic_

Shuddering, Hinata closed the file, a tear squeezing itself from the corner of her eye. Gently, she placed it next to her and picked up the file labelled _Hyuuga, Hinari._ Her heart was beating a tattoo against her ribcage, but still, with great trepidation, Hinata opened up the file.

There was a photo there too, of a baby. It was tiny, the photo probably taken soon after it was born. It was wrapped in a pink blanket, with two small hands balled into fists beside her face. Her cheeks were still discoloured, and the barest fuzz of midnight black hair licked her scalp. The barest chink of white peeked out from underneath her closed eyelids. Hinata felt a deep sense of loss, staring at the child. She had had a sister, another sister, for just a moment. Hinata's eyes looked down at the details.

_Name: Hyuuga, Hinari  
Sex: Female  
Cause of Death: Premature birth  
Date and Time of Birth: April 3__rd__, 17:20pm  
Date and Time of Death: April 4__th__, 7:41am  
Age: 14 hours  
Family: Mother: Hyuuga, Hana; Father: Unknown  
Weight: Two pounds, one ounce_

Hinata felt like she was going to be sick. She couldn't take her eyes off the photo of the small child. Questions were swarming through her head, but one was screaming the loudest.

_What did the file mean by 'Father: Unknown'? Surely it should say 'Hyuuga Hiashi'!_

Hinata couldn't make sense of it, and managed to close the file before standing on shaking legs. She glanced at the clock and (if possible) paled further. _Her class was due to start in five minutes!_

She raced back to the desk where the old man sat, and he looked at her kindly.

"I hope you found the files informative?" he said, taking them back with gnarled fingers.

Hinata nodded, feeling she might be sick if she opened her mouth, and raced away, up to her classroom.

* * *

Everyone was already seated by the time she arrived.

"S-sorry," she panted, peeling her sweaty hair away from her forehead. She walked to her desk and got the files out. "So today, we'll be looking at different breaks and fractures that can happen to our bones," she said mindlessly, and turned to the board.

"Good thing we already know that," piped up a voice that made Hinata grind her teeth.

"And how would you already know that?" Hinata said through clenched teeth, not turning around.

"Because you already taught us this," said Nise, and Hinata could hear the smirk in her voice.

Hinata was not a violent person. In fact, to most who knew her, she was the very definition of subdued and peaceful. But she felt that, if she was allowed, she would have happily throttled Nise.

It didn't matter if she was right. All that mattered was that she was a stuck up brat, and Hinata felt the deepest sense of loathing towards the girl.

Finally, Hinata turned to face her.

It would have been so much easier to hate her if Nise was stupid, or ugly, or rude to anyone else. Instead, she was top of the class, was easily one of the most attractive girls Hinata had ever laid eyes upon, and was the most pleasant of people to everyone else in this accursed village. Even the class loved her! They viewed her easy attitude as 'cool', and she had risen to popularity very quickly.

Oh, Hinata _loathed_ this girl.

Nise rubbed her electric blue eyes and grinned at Hinata in a way that made the girl's blood boil. It was almost like a ritual, this consistent eye rubbing, and it annoyed Hinata more than she would ever care to admit. If that was Nise's only flaw, Hinata would focus on it and drag as much hate from it as she could.

_Damn pretty, smart, popular Nise and her damn eye rubbing. Kami, she _hated_ that._

Hinata had never felt so petty, but then again she had never exactly hated anyone before either. Not even Hanabi. But her daily Nise-filled dose of humiliation was more than enough to ignite that flame.

"If you would _please_ let me finish, Nise, you would know that we are going to be revising this and every other topic we've covered so far in preparation for the end-of-month test."

Nise narrowed her pretty eyes at Hinata, then shrugged, turning away to look at the rest of the class with an easy smile. "Do what you will," she said, smirking. "It's not like any of us really care, anyway."

There was a light smattering of snickering throughout the room, and Hinata balled up her fists in anger and humiliation. She wanted to shout something smart and witty that would make the class respect her, but _dammit,_ why wouldn't the words come? Instead, she turned back to the board, fighting tears. The morning had been too emotional already. Hinata didn't think she could deal with a screaming match against someone who would probably (inevitably) win.

Finally, what felt like a lifetime later, the clock chimed twelve, and Hinata dismissed the class for their half-hour break. She slumped into the chair at her desk and put her head in her hands, thinking about the information she had gathered that morning, attempting to piece what she knew together.

Her mother had, according to Sunagakure's files, died when she was five years of age. She had died during childbirth, and that child had died a few hours later due to being premature. The child may or may not have been her father's. However, according to Konoha and her father, Hinata's mother had died when she was four years of age, in Konoha, and definitely not due to childbirth.

The only way Hinata could think of getting answers was by asking her father. Surely he, of all people, would know something?

Hinata pulled pen and paper out of her drawer and began drafting a letter.

_Most respected father,_

Hinata screwed up her forehead and crossed the line out.

_Father,_

Feeling the line sounded far too severe, she crossed it out too.

_Hey dad!_

Hinata almost laughed at the reaction _that_ line would receive, and crossed it out.

_Dearest father,_

She felt that that was the best she would get, and continued.

_Dearest father,_

_The other night I was walking through Suna's graveyard with the Kazekage Gaara-sama, and you'll never guess what I found._

Hinata blinked, and crossed the line with a shake of her head.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months._

She nodded. That sounded formal and pleasant and mindless enough.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months. During my stay here, I stumbled across something very unsettling. Can you tell me why mum was buried in Suna? And died due to childbirth?_

"No, no, no," she berated herself, and crossed out those last two sentences.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months. During my stay here, I stumbled across something very unsettling. It was brought to my attention that my mother died in Sunagakure fourteen years ago due to childbirth. So why the hell have you_

Hinata growled and crossed it out.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months. During my stay here, I stumbling across something very unsettling. It was brought to my attention that my mother died in Sunagakure fourteen years ago due to childbirth. As I'm sure you understand, this news is very disturbing to me, as I have always been led to believe by you, you lying_

"Stop making this so personal!" she scolded herself, and continued.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months. During my stay here, I stumbling across something very unsettling. It was brought to my attention that my mother died in Sunagakure fourteen years ago due to childbirth. As I'm sure you understand, this news is very disturbing to me, as I have always been led to believe that mother died when I was four and in Konoha._

_What the fuck, dad?_

She laughed, and crossed that out too.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months. During my stay here, I stumbling across something very unsettling. It was brought to my attention that my mother died in Sunagakure fourteen years ago due to childbirth. As I'm sure you understand, this news is very disturbing to me, as I have always been led to believe that mother died when I was four and in Konoha._

_It would be most appreciated if you could please inform me as to why mother is buried in Suna and not Konoha._

_Sincerely, your very pissed off_

Now she was just writing that to be stupid.

_Dearest father,_

_As you are aware, I am currently working in Sunagakure for a period of six months. During my stay here, I stumbling across something very unsettling. It was brought to my attention that my mother died in Sunagakure fourteen years ago due to childbirth. As I'm sure you understand, this news is very disturbing to me, as I have always been led to believe that mother died when I was four and in Konoha._

_It would be most appreciated if you could please inform me as to why mother is buried in Suna and not Konoha._

_Sincerely, your daughter, Hinata._

Reading through the scribble, she felt that she had a reasonable skeleton of a respectful letter. And just in time, too, as the class began to file in. Hinata sighed and, putting the draft away, began to start teaching.

* * *

The end of the day couldn't come fast enough, and Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when the last student left. She was _exhausted,_ emotionally, mentally and physically. There was nothing she wanted more than hot food and sleep.

"Did you find anything?" said a voice from the doorway, and Hinata turned quickly to see the form of Gaara standing at the entrance to her classroom, arms folded in front of his chest.

She nodded her head, confused as to how he knew this was her classroom and why he was here in the first place. Shouldn't he be busy with Kazekage duties?

"I can't stay long," he said as he walked into the room. Hinata gave him a look, wondering if he hadn't somehow read her thoughts. "I'm supposed to be at a meeting in five minutes."

"W-why are you h-here then?" she asked, cursing her stutter, then coloured, not sure if he would take her tone as rude.

"Curiosity," he said simply, and stood in front of her desk. He was silent after that, and Hinata realised that he was waiting for her to tell him what she'd found.

"Oh, um, I looked in the, um, in the archives," she said, tripping over her words and scrambling through her drawers for the draft letter. "It was – uh – definitely her. Sh-she died in childbirth, and H-Hinari died a few hours later. She was, um, premature."

He nodded, and Hinata took that as a cue to continue. She was glad that the room was getting darker, so that he wouldn't be able to see her slowly reddening face.

"I'm going t-to write to my father and s-see if he knows anything." She practically threw her draft letter at him in her nervousness, and then wondered why she was so nervous in the first place. An exasperating end to a tiresome day, she figured.

She watched as his eyes skimmed across the letter, and swore she saw the edges of his mouth perk up on a few occasions.

"I'd suggest re-writing it before sending it," he said simply as he handed it back to her, and she nodded in agreement. "Have you been in contact with your friends since coming here?"

"Y-yes," she replied. "Sakura and Tenten and Ino send m-me a letter every week."

"Not Naruto?" she stiffened at his name and hoped Gaara didn't see it. "You've been in love with him for years, haven't you?"

"No," she snapped back, a little too aggressively. "I-I mean, things change."

He gave her a peculiar look, but didn't comment. "I'll be walking through Suna again tonight. You're welcome to join me, if you'd like," he invited, and Hinata was taken aback by the sentence.

"I, uh…" she didn't know quite how to respond, but felt it would be rude to deny an invitation from the Kazekage himself. So she nodded. "I'd like that."

He gave her a light nod before he left the room.

* * *

She had fallen asleep at her table, dinner gone cold and twisted through her hair and her final letter lying in front of her, when a knock sounded at the door. She was shocked awake and, pulling pasta out of her locks, decided that she would most definitely murder whoever had knocked.

At least, she would, if she were braver.

Well, maybe if the person was Nise she would punch her. But alas, Gaara stood there. He raised a non-existent brow and eyed the food sticking in her hair with amusement.

"I didn't intend to wake you," he said as way of an apology. Hinata swallowed a sorry and blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"I'll j-just get a jacket," she said, and darted to her room. On the way out she caught sight of her reflection – and just barely managed to grasp at tendrils of consciousness.

_I can't believe I just greeted the Kazekage looking like this!_ she thought, fighting back tears and combing her hair with her fingers. One side had fallen victim to a cow lick, with pasta and sauce woven intermittently through the strands and over her cheek. She heard footsteps and hurriedly worked to make herself presentable. _Father would kill me if he saw me looking like this._

He stopped at her doorway and she flushed. "I'm s-so sorry you c-caught me like th-this," she stammered. "I-I'm so embarrassed."

"Why?" he asked, and she nearly choked. _Because half my dinner is caked on my head!_ "You've been working hard. You were exhausted. I should be the one apologising."

She shot him a look full of curiosity.

"I'm used to exhaustion. I forget that others experience it differently."

There it was again. That not-quite apology. A furrow appeared at the bridge of her nose just as she pulled the last of her dinner from her hair and deemed herself presentable enough to be seen in the Kazekage's presence.

"I'm r-ready now," she said quietly, and he nodded again.

_He nods an awful lot,_ she thought, then followed him out the door.

* * *

**Hey everyone. Thank you so so much to those who have left reviews on this story. Unfortunately the list of people favouriting and not reviewing is on the rise, and that makes me incredibly sad. By no means do I expect a review every chapter, but just one would really make my day. Hope you all have a great fortnight, and see you in two weeks!**

**\- Sapphire xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**A lot of people have brought it up recently, so I just wanted to clear it up that in this story Hanabi is three years younger than Hinata instead of her canon age :)**

**Oh my god you guys. **_**You guys!**_** You're too wonderful, thank you so much to those beautiful people who reviewed, words can't express my gratitude. Maybe an update every week can say thank you a bit better? Thank you.**

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**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 5**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Hinata didn't think she'd ever get used to just how different Suna was at night compared to day. It was almost like two different cities. This time he took her to the outer wall, the final barrier between empty desert and thriving metropolis.

"How do you find teaching?" he asked her, staring out into the desert beyond. They were perched on the precipice of the wall, legs dangling down into the dark nether below. Gaara was hunched forward, posture relaxed, hands resting lightly in his lap. Hinata sat ramrod straight, hands laying limp just over her knees.

She thought for a moment before answering. "I really enjoy it," she said quietly, watching her breath turn to frost in front of her. "It's so different to anything I've ever done before. It challenges me and it's teaching me how to be a leader, which I hope will help when I take over my father as Head of my Clan."

He gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head. "No one is causing you any trouble?"

Hinata's mind flashed almost instinctively to Nise. "Only one," she admitted, not caring to lie to him. "Her name's Nise. She's a brat and has no respect."

"Why don't you kick her out?" Gaara asked her curiously, tilting his head slightly towards her.

She hesitated a moment. "As much as she is a brat, she's very intelligent and I feel that she would be an asset to the hospital. She's only fourteen, she'll learn respect in time. I'm not here to judge my pupil's attitude, I'm here to train them to be medics."

He looked satisfied with her answer. Changing the topic, he asked: "Why do you think your mother came to Suna?"

She considered his question. "I couldn't tell you," she eventually conceded. "She came here when she was pregnant, lived here for four months, then died during childbirth. I'm certain Suna and Konoha were not allies at the time, and why my father insisted that she had died of illness when she hadn't baffles me. Hinari's death certificate doesn't say who her father was, so did we share a father? Was a child forced upon her and she left out of shame? Did she have to leave for having an affair? I never envisioned her being the kind of person who would do that, but now I don't feel like I ever knew my mother. She feels like a stranger to me. She left when I was four, how well could I have really known her? I won't know until my father replies to my letter. Can you think of anything?" she asked him, turning to face him.

He shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said, and they fell silent for a time, staring out at the vast expanse of empty desert beyond.

"This is one of my favourite places," he stated matter-of-factly after a time, leaning back on his hands.

"Why?" she asked him, and he shrugged.

"It's peaceful. After suffering through being a Jinchuuriki for so many years, peace seems like a privilege."

She nodded, wondering if that was how Naruto felt when he and Kurama finally became friends – and then violently shoved the thought of Naruto from her mind. Not here. Not now. She wasn't ready to open up that folder.

"Why are you here, Hinata?" Gaara asked suddenly, taking Hinata off guard.

"With you?" she clarified.

"No, in Suna."

She swallowed hard. "Just… I needed a change," she replied, hoping it would do.

He looked at her through narrowed eyes for a moment, and she turned her head aside. "There's something else," he observed.

Hinata closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't –

"But I won't make you tell me if you do not wish to."

She couldn't believe what she had heard.

"Don't you want to -"

"I'm curious," he said, "but I'm not rude. You can tell me in your own time."

Hinata breathed out a sigh she didn't realise she'd been holding, and almost managed a smile. "Thank you," she said, and he gave her another of his nods, before they fell into comfortable silence. When she finally walked through her door at three in the morning, she found that she didn't mind spending time with Gaara at all, and indeed looked forward to their next meeting.

* * *

She sent out the messenger hawk with her letter the next morning before class. She didn't wait to see it fly off, and walked slowly to the hospital. It was a Friday, and the day of the exam. A short day, which started later and ended earlier. Plus, two days off, which was always a bonus. She was in the room at seven, normal time, even though she knew no one would be inside until nine. She sat at her desk and began to review the test. At nine, when everyone was seated (Nise arrived with a minute to spare and acted like that was okay) she told everyone to begin, and at twelve she told them to put their pens down.

"Don't forget," she said, as she collected everyone's papers, "if you receive under seventy-five percent for this test, you will have failed the course and you will be asked to leave. I wish you all luck, and I'll see you on Monday."

Everyone shuffled out, groaning slightly. Hinata placed the tests into her satchel before going home.

* * *

She had had every intention of marking the exams, but something had pulled her to her mother's grave. That was where she found herself, sitting in front of the tombstone, reading the blocked letters of her mother's and sister's names. She touched the letters lightly, skimming her fingers over the carved stone.

"I wish you were here, mum," she whispered. "I wish you were here, so you could tell me what happened to you and Hinari. Why you were buried here, and not in Konoha."

"What are you doing here?" a voice interrupted, and Hinata jumped to her feet, staring in shock as Nise's face swam into view.

"Paying respect to my mother, Nise," Hinata replied, hands balled into fists at her side as she forced pleasantness into her tone. "I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone. I deal with your disrespect enough in the classroom, I don't want to deal with it here too."

"Your mother is buried here?" Nise asked, sounding – weirdly – surprised. "Why?"

_Because she's dead, you annoying fool._

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," she said coolly, turning her head back to the grave. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone."

"My mother is buried here too," Nise said suddenly. Hinata looked at her, wondering why she would tell her that. "The Monks never told me her name. They just said that my father died protecting someone he loved, and my mother died soon after that. I like to think he died protecting her."

Hinata was speechless, and had to physically restrain her jaw from falling open. Had _Nise_ just said that? _Nise._ Bane of her teaching existence. Insolent, conceited, selfish Nise, who never had a nice thing to say, just tried to _sympathise_ with Hinata?

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata said, scrounging for words. Those seemed to fit relatively well, she supposed.

"Thanks," she said, and sat down next to Hinata, rubbing her eyes.

Hinata shifted uncomfortably. Was it a trick? A ruse? A joke? Nise was being… _nice_… and sitting next to Hinata of her own volition. And nothing bad was happening. Hinata wondered why a fissure hadn't opened up in the space-time continuum.

"Um… are you okay, Nise?" Hinata asked, testing the boundaries lightly.

"Yeah, why?" She turned pretty electric blue eyes on Hinata. They seemed to almost gleam in the sunlight.

Hinata looked away. "No reason… you're just being nice and I'm not sure why."

Nise erupted into fits of laughter, catching Hinata off guard.

"What's so funny, Nise?"

Nise choked back giggles and managed to wheeze out: "You think I'm mean because I _don't_ like you? Quite the contrary Hinata, I do like you! I just have a problem with authority figures. I like being the one in charge. I get annoyed with anyone who's meant to be the boss of me. Especially -" she smirked a little "- when they're not very good at it."

Hinata coloured and looked at her shuffling feet.

"Aren't you next in line to lead the Hyuuga Clan?"

Hinata nodded, not looking at the girl.

"It's surprising you would be so timid. I dunno, I guess I just expected the one-day Head of one of the most powerful Clans to a bit more outgoing."

Hinata winced at the subtle insult. "My sister was the one who got that."

"Sister?" Hinata looked at Nise, who looked confused.

"Hanabi. She's three years younger than me. She inherited all that. She's talented, outgoing, and everything the Head of the Clan should be. It's only birth order that's stopping her," Hinata said quietly, trying to hide her shame.

"That's stupid. You're talented."

"Not naturally. I have to work so hard just to get the smallest results. Hanabi picks up everything _so easily_. It's no wonder father favours her. No wonder she got N… never mind." Hinata could feel pity coming from Nise's direction, and hated the feeling. She didn't want to be pitied. Especially not by Nise.

"Look, if you want, I'll teach you how to be more outgoing."

Hinata blinked and looked at Nise. "What?" she asked stupidly.

"I can try to help you be more outgoing," Nise enunciated slowly. "It's not that hard. And in return, you can make sure I don't fail this course."

"You won't," said Hinata. "You're top of the class."

"That's good to know. I still don't want to bum out though. You make sure I don't fail, and I'll help you be more outgoing. Deal?" She held out her hand, inviting Hinata to take it.

Hinata was suspicious, but shook the offered hand anyway. Maybe the next five months would be easier to get through with Nise as her ally and not her enemy. It was worth a shot at any rate.

"Good talk, Hinata. See you Monday."

She walked off, leaving a dumbfounded Hinata staring after her.

* * *

She had woken up early that Saturday morning and dived headfirst into marking the exams. So far, she had marked nine of them, and one student had failed. Hinata didn't look forward to telling everyone just who had passed and who hadn't. She had considered putting a sign on the door with the names of those who could come back and those who couldn't, so that she wouldn't have to face them, but immediately chastised herself for the thought. That was a sure-fire way to prove her cowardice. And it would be highly disrespectful, she thought.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled midday, and Hinata sighed, putting her head in her hands. Her brain was in agony.

At that moment, a knock sounded at her door. Grateful for the distraction, Hinata opened the door, and looked straight into Gaara's teal eyes. Stunned, she blinked.

"H-hello Gaara-sama," she said cautiously. "Can I help you?"

He looked at her curiously for a moment. "You don't need to address me so formally."

"Sorry," she apologised before she could help herself.

He huffed with amusement and shook his head. "I have an hour to spare and wondered if you'd like to get some lunch?"

Hinata blanched, caught completely off guard. "I… I guess?" she replied with a questioning tone. She wasn't about to pass up the chance to leave marking for an hour, but it was so odd that he would ask her in the first place. She barely knew him, after all.

He raised the corner of his mouth in what could be interpreted as a smile, and motioned his head for her to follow him, which she obligingly did. They didn't speak as they walked through the markets, until Gaara stopped at a stall selling street food.

"What would you like?" he asked, and she shrugged. She wasn't particularly fussy when it came to food. He ordered, and when the food was done gave her what looked like noodles mixed with chunks of meat. "It's good. I've been coming here since I was a boy," he said to her. She picked a shady spot to sit in and began eating the food, Gaara sitting calmly beside her.

It was surprisingly tasty. The meat had been soaked in an array of spices, and the noodles had evidently been cooked in a savoury sauce which only enhanced all the combined flavours.

"Hinata," said Gaara, and she made a noise telling him to continue. "I need to ask you about Naruto."

She nearly choked on her noodles. He continued despite her spluttering, as if what he was about to say had been weighing on him and he needed to get it off his chest.

"I need to make sure that he is alright. You have loved him for a very long time. I can't imagine that you would be here if something hadn't happened to him, and as he is my closest friend, it is my duty to make sure that you haven't hurt him, and you're not here to get away from that."

Hinata felt sick to her stomach, and any appetite she had previously had, had vanished.

"I… I…" How could she answer that? Naruto was still an open wound, one that would take a long time to heal. She had begun to love him soon after her mother's death. She couldn't recover from such resilient feelings in the short space of a month.

"Is he hurt, Hinata?"

She could feel Gaara looking at her, but she couldn't face him. She shook her head.

_He's the very opposite of hurt. He's living in faux bliss with my sister._

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, still not looking at him.

"Hinata, I can't let you stay in Suna if you've hurt him. Naruto is -"

"I know he's precious to you, Gaara-sama," she interceded, standing up. She still refused to look at him. "He's precious to me too. But… but things have changed, and I need time to get used to that change. Thank you very much for lunch. I must get back to work." She placed the bowl with her lunch on the ground, bowed to him, and left as quickly as would seem natural, fighting tears as she went.

_It_ _wasn't fair,_ she thought as she closed the door behind her, pressing her back to the cool wood. Why was he questioning her about Naruto? Why couldn't he leave her alone? Naruto wasn't the one in pain. Naruto wasn't the one who had to leave the damn country just to get over someone. She curled in on herself, letting her tears run free. She'd been so caught up in the case revolving around her mother's death and a mystery sister, she'd barely had time to think about Naruto. But it all came flooding back to her in that moment.

Naruto's hand entwined with Hanabi's.

All those years he'd spent pining for Sakura.

"_I hope this doesn't become awkward, Hinata-chan. I mean, I know she's your sister, but over the mission we really got to know each other and I really like her."_

Just pounding into her head, reinforcing the one truth of it all: Naruto had never and would never see her as anything more than a friend.

And she cried. She cried _hard_. She wept until she couldn't breathe, and was choking on her tears, and it was loud and messy and every little hurt that had gather through the years released itself in a torrent of watery beads. But at the end she felt better. She wiped away the tears and splashed cold water on her face and, hiccupping, decided that she would find Gaara and apologise for her shortness. After all, he was just trying to look out for his friend.

When she opened her front door, she found the rest of her lunch, packaged neatly with new chopsticks and a little note. Written in uncomfortably neat handwriting was the word _"Sorry"_. She smiled, and brought the food inside.

* * *

**I'm taking pure artistic license with the idea that Gaara knows Hinata loves Naruto. As it was such an integral part of her character in Naruto, although Hinata and Gaara didn't really know each other personally, I always felt that he would've heard about it through mutual friends and observed it during situations where they were all together. But that's just my own personal opinion *pokes tongue***

**What did you think of Nise? I'm excited to be able to finally incorporate her more into the story, and opinions on her would be really lovely.  
**

**Thank you for reading and I will love you forever if you could please leave me a little review, especially if you favourite ;) See you in a week!**

**\- Sapphire xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much to the beautiful people who left such nice reviews, I really appreciate it! I hope you guys had a great Easter! Oh, and, uh, to that **_**wonderful**_** reader 'for fuck's sake', I've left you a special reply down the bottom ;)**

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* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 6**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

The next day, when she had finished marking all the papers (three people had failed overall, and she wasn't looking forward to facing them come the next day) she decided to go outside and train. She hadn't had a lot of time to do that while in Suna, as she had been either too busy with work or too exhausted from working.

The midday sun beat down on her back, and she brushed beads of sweat away from her eyes. Taking aim and activating her Byakugan, she noted the bullseye on all fifteen targets surrounding her. Closing her eyes and deactivating her Byakugan, she threw fifteen kunai at each of the targets, and to her delight, when she opened her eyes, each one had hit its mark.

_I'm getting better at this,_ she thought, pulling the knives from the targets.

"Not bad," said a voice, and Hinata turned to see Nise staring at her, electric blue eyes shining. "Could be better though. Your wrist movement is off."

Hinata forced down a scowl and continued pulling her kunai out of the targets. "This is how they train us in the Leaf, Nise-san."

Nise made a face and came to stand behind Hinata. "There's a lot of unnecessary movement. Don't throw your arms, it just exhausts them. Flick your wrists, it's a lot better."

"There's not enough power behind a throw with just your wrists," Hinata countered.

"Then make your wrists stronger," Nise retaliated, frustrated. "Here, watch me."

She took her stance in the middle of the target circle. She took a deep breath and, at blinding speed, threw fifteen kunai at each of the targets, burying them halfway up the blade. Hinata watched in shock.

"The less motion, the better your aim," Nise said, opening her eyes. "And the more energy you conserve."

"Who trained you?" Hinata asked, staring uneasily at all fifteen perfect bullseyes.

"The Monks."

"I didn't realise that Monks were so talents in the ways of the ninja," said Hinata, more than a little impressed.

"The Monks don't like violence. That doesn't mean they won't resort to it if necessary," said Nise casually. Hinata supposed that that made sense, and dropped the subject.

Rubbing her eyes, Nise collected the kunai from the targets. "Now you try."

Hinata retrieved her own kunai from the bag at her hip and activated her Byakugan.

"Don't do that," came Nise's aggravated voice.

"Do what?" Hinata retaliated, growing more frustrated by the second. She hadn't done anything!

"Don't rely on your Byakugan so much. You'll be more powerful if you learn to fight without needing it."

"And how would you know so much about Byakugans, Nise-san? It's my Kekkei Genkai."

Nise shrugged. "The Monks kept a very detailed record of all of Konoha's bloodline limits from when Suna and Konoha were enemies. I got curious."

Hinata huffed in annoyance.

"It only seems rational to me," Nise continued, ignoring Hinata's frustration, "that a ninja is more powerful when they only need to call on their Kekkei Genkai at the most desperate of times. You shouldn't feel the need to use it for a simple _training exercise._ That's just stupid."

Hinata decided that Nise was very good at subtly insulting people. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, fighting her habit of calling on the Byakugan, and flicked her wrists as hard as she could towards the targets. When she opened her eyes, fourteen had found their mark, and the last was a breath away from the centre. It was better than she thought she would do, at any rate.

"Not bad," Nise said, and Hinata decided that that was the best compliment she would ever get out of the girl. "You keep working on that. I'm going to go get some lunch. See you tomorrow."

Hinata watched as she walked away, then, once again, collected her kunai.

"She seems very bossy," said a voice, and Hinata grudgingly wondered if she'd ever get a moment to herself. Gaara walked to stand in her line of sight. "You've become more powerful since the war."

Hinata raised her eyes to take in his blood red hair, kanji scar and teal eyes. "I've been training very hard."

"Why is that?"

She averted her eyes, not willing to divulge that she had hoped if she got powerful enough, Naruto would see her as something more. "A ninja must always work to better themselves," she finally said.

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. "Have you heard anything from your father regarding your mother?"

"No. I only sent the hawk a few days ago."

He nodded again, and Hinata found herself surprisingly irritated by the movement. _He nods far too much,_ she thought.

"Spar with me."

She blanched. "What?"

He shrugged, and took off his Kazekage robe. "I have a feeling you'll provide an interesting challenge."

Hinata scowled at him. What kind of game did he think he was playing? With his protective sand barrier, she didn't stand a chance of even touching him, let alone beating him. When she said as much, he shook his head.

"How can you hope to become the best ninja you can be when you are always doubting yourself? It doesn't matter if you win or lose. You just need to try."

Hinata sighed, but decided that he was right. Self-doubt had always plagued her. Doubting that Naruto would ever see her as anything more (though that point had been proven correct), doubting that she would be powerful enough, doubting that she would become a good head of her Clan – she had experienced it all.

"You're a powerful ninja, Hinata," Gaara said to her, breaking her reverie. "You just need to believe it."

At those words, she moved herself into a sparring stance, arms held fluidly in front of her body. She activated her Byakugan, and all of his chakra points, the flow of chakra in his body was revealed to her. She could see his sand armour, could tell how thick it was, and quickly calculated just how much force it would take to break through it.

He was right – it _would_ be an interesting spar. Gaara's speciality was long-range attacks. She had witnessed that on the few occasions she'd seen him fight in the past. If one could break through his attacks and get close to him, they stood a chance. Which was good for Hinata, as she specialised in close-range attacks – she just needed to get close to him, and dodge through the waves of cement-hard sand that he would inevitably throw at her, to win. She surveyed the landscape, and lamented that they were in the _desert._ He was surrounded by his natural element. If they were in Konoha, or the Land of Waves, she would stand a far better chance.

The problem was that Gaara had the rare ability to attack and defend, not only at the same time, but with equal strength. The only way that she could win was to get through his defence while evading his attacks, and give her absolute all for both. Gaara was a Kage. It would be foolish for her to underestimate him for even a moment.

The practise poles and targets that surrounded them would make good foot holds, she decided. It would be a pitiful fight indeed, if the only move he had to make would be to drag her into the sand.

She saw the slightest shift in his chakra, and knew he was about to attack. It concentrated it his left palm, and so she jumped right, narrowly missing a crude hand made of sand as it attempted to catch her ankle. She landed on a pole, balancing on one foot, and watched through her Byakugan as he sent his chakra streaming through the sand around his feet. It branched out in rivulets around her, surrounding her, trapping her, and she knew that she needed to move, and _fast._ She jumped to the next pole, and not a moment too soon, as a wave of sand broke over where she had been standing only moments prior. She quickly decided that evasion would be her best tactic until she could more clearly discern his own personal patterns – she would get into a rhythm, and then she would attack.

Chakra pooled in a puddle around the pole she was standing on, and she jumped again, this time landing on a target. She didn't allowed herself to rest, and she jumped again, deciding to circle him. She wasn't sure how perfect his Ultimate Defence was since having Shukaku extracted, and if she could find a weakness in it, maybe she could exploit it. The chakra flowing through his Ultimate Defence certainly _seemed_ perfect, but she couldn't be certain.

Circling him, she began to throw senbon needles directly at his heart. As expected, walls of sand flew up, and the needles embedded themselves in the barrier.

"I know what you're doing, and it won't work," he called out to her, his voice lazy. "My defence is perfect. You can't break it."

"Sasuke-san broke it when he was only twelve!" she cried back, dodging yet another wave of sand and throwing another senbon needle. "It would be shameful of me if I couldn't do the same!"

She finished her circle and, though she wasn't surprised, she was dismayed to find that there was no weaknesses in his defence. Something good had come out of her circling him though, as she was more easily able to discern his pattern of attack. It was based on pre-meditating where exactly she would be, and striking at the assumed moment she would get there. And she was able to figure out where exactly he would strike by fluxes in his chakra. It was a game of foresight, and whoever saw furthest won.

The highest concentration of chakra was in the metre perimeter around his body. The sand surrounding him was soaked in it. But she could tell that using and concentrating that much chakra for such an extended period of time was quickly exhausting him. He would be wanting to finish the match quickly, and she would want to wear him out. The thought gave her an idea, and she immediately started to put it into practise.

She continued hopping between poles and targets, avoiding the sand waves each time by a mere hair's breath. She pumped chakra into her feet, making her jumps more powerful and changing the pattern of poles she had been jumping on. She could see in his expression that the change annoyed him, and he diverted his chakra in an effort to keep up. Hinata knew that if he truly wanted, all he had to do was make all the sand rise and bring it crashing down. She wouldn't be able to avoid that, and he would win. She felt momentarily grateful that he was at least giving her a fighting chance, before she felt the tell-tale signs of sand dancing around her ankle. Refusing to allow panic to well up inside her, she kicked her leg out in a wide arc, dislodging the sand before it could grab a firm hold and drag her to the ground. The movement threw out her balance, and she landed unsteadily on a target, twisting her ankle in the process.

She ignored the pain shooting up her leg and shook sweat out of her eyes. The heat was more damaging than the sand, she surmised. If the fight didn't end soon, she would faint from sun-stroke and dehydration.

She was panting, and the air tasted like ash in her mouth, her ankle throbbed horribly. She jumped from the target and landed on another pole, favouring her uninjured foot. The only comfort that she could find was that Gaara's chakra was beginning to run dangerously low, and she decided that she would need to strike, and _soon._

She began to weave a pattern between the poles and the targets, darting slowly forward in a random pattern, one he couldn't decipher. His sand had begun to grow sluggish, and she was allowed a fraction of a second longer on each landing than she had had previously.

Slowly she grew closer, closer, until she was within range. Quickly, before he could register the motion, she threw a kunai at his chest, then jumped over the top of him, hoping to distract him with the kunai. She used a pole that was directly behind him to propel herself at his back. Not wasting any precious time, she concentrated chakra into her palms, moulding it into the shape of two lion heads. The Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists was one of the most powerful jutsus in her repertoire, and it would only take one touch to drain his chakra down to dangerous levels, which would result in her victory. She was a breath away from reaching him before the sand attacked. It wrapped around her feet, her legs, her torso and chest, disrupting her momentum, and before she knew it she was being dragged to the ground. Gaara's unexpected attack threw off her concentration, and the chakra in her palms faltered, before it dissipated into the air. She knew that the impact would hurt, and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the crash.

But before she hit she was grasped by gentle but insistent hands. They wove around her waist and redirected her movement so that instead of falling onto hard, unforgiving sand, she fell on top of a warm body.

She blinked, and her surprised look was met with Gaara's teal eyes, looking at her curiously. She held his stare for a moment, hands on his chest and his arms still about her waist, before the familiar feeling of a blush slid neatly onto her cheeks. She scrambled off him, stumbled apologies stuttering their way off her tongue.

"S-sorry," she stammered, looking away and at the ground. The glint of a kunai glanced up at her, and she bent to retrieve it. "I-I-I… uh… s-sorry."

He stood slowly, and she could feel his eyes still looking at her. "You're a lot more powerful than you give yourself credit for," he said eventually, and she risked peeking at him. Those teal eyes were still on her, regarding her with an unfathomable expression.

"Th-thank you," she said, looking back at her feet. She heard his footsteps as he approached her, but she didn't look at him. His earlier proximity had her far too mortified. He stopped right in front of her.

"Naruto is my best friend," he said to her, his voice gentle. She winced anyway. "But he is also a fool." Almost reflexively she stared at him, shocked by his words.

"W-what?" she breathed, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard.

"He's a fool. He had something so perfect within his reach, and he let it slip through his fingers." And then he left without another word, Hinata staring stupefied at his retreating back.

When she got home, ignoring the pain in her ankle, she couldn't get his words out of her head. After she healed the damaged joint, she lay down on her bed and fell asleep with his strange, yet warming words chorusing through her mind.

* * *

**for fuck's sake:** it's funny, because you know what you sound like? A jealous GaarHina author who's angry at me for having a story that gets attention and reviews. "Do you even like the pairing?" "This is a legitimate review." "You should really consider not posting this anymore." "You should probably block anon reviews." "Stop being such a fucking review whore." Leaving me two shitty reviews so as to deter other readers. If you get 'angry' at me and 'come back', what're you gonna do? Up my review count and hence get me more readers? Ha. Nice try. If, on the off chance that's an actual 'review', please get your selfish head out of your misguided ass and understand that I don't write for you or for anyone other than myself. Oh, and btw, you owe an apology to my readers, and if that's how you treat your readers, it's no wonder no one reviews your stories :)

**Sorry 'bout that to everyone else. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked it. In the meantime, feel free to leave me a review! I love hearing from people and I promise I'm friendly aha. Anything except flames are welcome ;) In the meantime, love and kisses and chocolate to you all. Happy Easter!**

**\- SapphireRivulet xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for your lovely reviews, they were so appreciated! I'm so excited to release this chapter, I've been waiting to write/post it ever since I thought of this story about… 3 years ago haha. I hope you enjoy it! :)**

**Watchingtherain1  
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kate122311 – **thank you for your review, and if I ever get an idea for more GaarHina smut/romance you can rest assured I'll write and post it ;)  
**Tamani  
No offense – **none taken, but I'm afraid I'm not ever going to keep quite if someone is nasty to me or others.  
**Witchy Bitch  
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Coco – **Thank you so much, I'm glad you think so :)  
**CAR – **Thank you, I'm so glad you thought so!  
**guest – **I'm really glad you love it, makes writing worthwhile :)

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 7**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

A month passed, and the days (somehow) grew steadily warmer. Hinata had spent the week following Gaara's words in a state of bafflement and disarray. She couldn't help but toss and mull them over in her head, trying to figure out exactly what he had meant. She didn't see him in that first week, and she felt glad, as it gave her time to think.

What did he mean by perfect?

She did her best to push the words from her mind, and ultimately failed more times than she cared to admit.

She had a lot to think about in that month to keep her busy, however. Three students had failed the first exam, a further two had dropped out, and she was left teaching eleven students. They were learning how to give injections and clean and bandage wounds, as well as resuscitation techniques, basic poisons, and basic viruses. It kept her very busy, especially supervising them when they gave injections and vaccines to patients in the hospital. Nise was coming top of the class, but Hinata expected little else of the girl. Her attitude had died down enough so that Hinata could teach undisturbed, and an acquaintance had begun to form. Nise reminded Hinata of her sister, and somehow she felt comforted by the fact – it was the memory without the heartbreak.

Every single day after class she went to the message centre, to see if a messenger hawk had come bearing her father's reply, and each day she went home deflated.

What was taking him so long? Her father, strict, stern, _punctual_ Hiashi Hyuuga, Head of the Hyuuga Clan, had never failed to reply to a single message, as far as Hinata knew. She was baffled as to why he hadn't yet replied to hers.

It only made her more and more curious. Was there something even more strange than she had originally anticipated behind her mother's final resting place in Suna? She had sought out all the information she had access to, and was able to find nothing else to shed light on her mother's strange appearance in Suna.

It was as she was walking home in the second week after last seeing Gaara that she ran in to him again. He had said nothing of his last words to her, only asked if word had come in from her father yet. She had been too afraid of the answer to ask him herself, and instead replied that she had heard nothing from her father.

He approached her thus each day that month, and kept his distance each time. His actions baffled her, but she didn't question them. She surmised that what had been said that time was merely said in the aftermath of adrenaline-fueled battle, and felt at peace with that. There was nothing else behind his words. No other meaning.

_Nothing,_ she convinced herself. She was certain of it.

**.:{~}:.**

The end of month test was fast approaching, and Hinata laboured over the requirements each student would need to fulfil so as to pass. There would be a practical side to the exam. Each student would receive a mannequin, and would be required to figure out what poison it had been contaminated with, would need to figure out and concoct the correct antidote to the poison, as well as patch up any cuts and scrapes properly and show correct resuscitation techniques. The mannequins were each fitted with a device that would show Hinata their results, and she would need to grade them accordingly. There would be a time limit before the poison would 'take over' and the 'patient' would be 'beyond saving'. If they failed to stay within the time frame, they would fail the exam immediately.

_And_ there was to be a written element. Hinata groaned. This exam was _not_ going to be fun to make or grade.

Her ears perked up when a knock sounded at her door. She rarely received visitors and felt the strain of curiosity pull her out of her chair.

It was Gaara, and she blinked rapidly in surprise. "Oh, Kazekage-sama… h-hi!"

He narrowed his eyes at the formal title. "Don't call me that," he said, shaking his head at her. "Just my first name is perfect."

_That word again,_ she thought, memories rushing back to her, ones she was quick to push down.

She stepped aside to allow him entry, an invitation he silently accepted. "C-can I help you?" she asked as he removed his sandals. He was dressed in regular attire instead of his Kazekage robe, she noted casually. Any hopes she may have had to pass this off as a formal visit were destroyed instantly.

He looked at her for a moment, then removed a small sheet of paper from a hidden pocket inside his pants. "A letter from your father has arrived."

Her eyes widened, and it took all her restraint to not snatch the letter out of his hands. He handed it to her, noting the way she stared at the parchment, and followed her to the small table in her kitchen. As he sat down, she took a deep, trembling breath, and opened the letter.

He watched her facial expression go from hungry, to confused, then baffled, all within the space of a few moments. She turned the paper around, looking for something else, something she didn't find. He enjoyed watching how expressive she was. The people of Suna were so different – rigid, strong, silent, hardened from living in such an inhospitable environment. There was laughter and happiness, of course, but it was usually reserved for behind closed doors. The public was a formal place, and Hinata was a breath of fresh air come to relieve that.

It took a moment for him to realise that she was staring at him, and he looked at her impassively. "What's wrong?"

She seemed speechless, and handed him the letter instead, unable to articulate how she felt about it.

He took the offered parchment, and read it, the source of her confounded state becoming immediately apparent.

_Because she betrayed me. Do not ask about your mother again._

_\- Your father, Hyuuga Hiashi._

He resisted the (very tempting) urge to turn the letter over and look for the rest of the message. Weeks of waiting, only for this to be the reply?

"What does he mean by that?" Gaara asked, unable to help himself. She shrugged.

"I don't know," she said, her voice quiet. "What could he possibly mean by that? My mother betrayed him? How? I've never heard of anything like that happening. He rarely spoke about my mother, but when he did his voice was full of love. I don't see how she could have possibly betrayed him."

Gaara handed the letter back, his mind whirring with possibilities. "Will you reply?" he asked, interest pooling in his stomach.

She shrugged again. "Should I? I don't know what to say. I'm more curious than ever before, but I don't know what to say to that. It's so confusing. I waited over a month for him to reply and… and this is it? She wasn't just his wife, she was my mother. I deserve an explanation."

Gaara nodded, and sensed that she wished to be left alone for a while. He decided to take his leave, and expressed the decision quietly before exiting the small unit. As he left, he passed the bossy dark-haired girl he had seen Hinata interacting with the previous month, and eyed her curiously from his peripherals before dismissing his interest.

Hinata had been staring at the letter (and lamenting the fact that any chance she had had of finishing the end-of-month exam had been destroyed the moment that the damned reply had arrived) before a second knock sounded at her door. She groaned, silently cursing whoever was trying to get her attention, and seriously considered ignoring them.

"Hinata, open the door! I know you're home!" came the unmistakeable voice of Nise.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Hinata called out: "The door is open, Nise."

Within moments, the familiar electric blue eyes of Nise were staring at her from across the table. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the letter.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Hinata replied, and went to place the letter in her pocket. Nise, however, beat her to it, and snatched the letter from her grasp.

A line of confusion crinkled her porcelain brow as she read the short reply, and she took a moment to comment, rubbing her eyes in the process. "This has to do with your mother being buried in Suna, doesn't it?" she eventually said, recounting the discussion they'd had over a month prior. Hinata nodded, eyes downcast. "Ugh, don't do that," Nise said, aggravated, and threw the letter back at her.

"Do what?" Hinata retaliated, immediately on the defensive. She hadn't done anything!

"Acting like you've done something wrong all the time. It's so annoying. Geeze. No one will ever take you seriously if all you do is stutter and apologise for everything. Don't -" she began when Hinata opened her mouth "- say sorry for that."

Hinata couldn't help the eye roll that assailed her, and put the letter in her pocket with a little more force than necessary.

"That's better," Nise observed, and Hinata shot her a confused look. "You are so much better when you have attitude. I can't stand you when all you do is mutter and apologise. You're a Kunoichi. Act like it."

Hinata grit her teeth, but nodded anyway. The critique could be useful, she supposed. Even if it came from a brat like Nise. It's not like there was anything wrong with being shy.

Nise narrowed her eyes, as if she could read Hinata's mind. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here. As fun as judging you is, it's not the purpose of my existence. I want you to tell me what's going to be on the end-of-month test."

Hinata's jaw physically dropped, leaving her mouth hanging wide open. "W-_what?_ You can't be serious, Nise. That's… that's _cheating!_"

Nise shrugged, uninterested. "You promised that you would make sure I don't fail. Best way to do that is to make sure that I know what's on the test. So tell me. It's only logical."

Hinata sighed and rubbed her temples. "Nise, I… I really can't tell you what's on the test. There's going to be a practical part and a theory part, and that's all I'll say. I could lose my job if I tell you anything else. I have too much on my mind at the moment."

Nise leaned back in the chair, arms crossed over her chest. Hinata could feel the annoyed vibes leaking out of the girl's pores, and tried her best to ignore them. "Does this have to do with that mother thing of yours?"

Hinata squeezed her eyes before nodding.

"What's happened? You can tell me."

Hinata looked at her for a moment. Was it really safe to trust Nise with something so confounding and close to her heart? She pondered it for a moment, before deciding that there was no harm in telling her.

"When I was four, my mother died. At least, I thought she did. Father said that she got very sick. She had a grave in the Hyuuga graveyard, and I would visit her every week. When I came to Suna I… I accidently found another grave. It had her name on it, and the name of a girl called Hinari Hyuuga. I went to where all the files in the hospital are kept, and it's confirmed that it was her, and Hinari was my sister. She died at birth – she was premature. I don't know why my mother came to Suna. I don't know why the fact that I had another sister was kept hidden from me for all these years. I'm so confused, and I wrote my father thinking that he could answer these questions for me, but that letter is all he's sent me. I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do. I want to know why my mother died in Suna. I want to know why my sister was kept hidden for all these years. I _need _to know, but I don't know what else to do." She looked away, questions flitting through her head and no source for an answer in sight. She knew that the mystery would plague her until she could solve the riddle.

Her reverie was broken by the sound of Nise yawning in the most melodramatic, exaggerated fashion she had ever seen. She looked up, barely able to suppress the horrified glance she shot at the young girl.

"Well Hinata, as _interesting_ as that is, I need to go study for a test that you won't help me pass. So much for our deal. Bye."

Hinata huffed out a breath of frustration. "You'll be tested on _everything_ you've learned in the past two months, Nise. Study everything."

Nise rubbed her eyes and left, slamming the door behind her. Hinata was tempted to scream out that she should also learn to control her attitude and try to be sympathetic, but decided to let it go. Anger would be of no use to her when she was trying to think.

* * *

Despite what she had previously believed, Hinata was able to work a bit more on the test before she turned in for the night. It was late when she went to bed, and she was exhausted. All of Suna was already asleep, and she collapsed into bed, not even bothering to get changed. She quickly fell into a deep sleep, and a nightmare gripped her in its claws.

_She recognised the sound of her mother._

"_No, Hiashi! I won't leave! You can't make me leave! My home is in Konoha. My family -"_

"_Is no longer your concern." She recognised the voice of her father. "If you don't leave tonight, you'll be as dead as that traitorous scum."_

_Her mother was crying now. Hinata turned to what would normally be a solid wall, but this one seemed to be transparent as she could look through it with some ease. Like it was made of opaque glass. "Please, Hiashi. Please. We can raise her like our two daughters. No one need ever -"_

"I_ will know," Hiashi hissed at her. "You have betrayed me, Hana. I gave you everything. I _loved_ you, and you betrayed me. Leave. I won't tell you again."_

_Hinata wanted to scream out, but no noise came from her throat. The more she tried to yell, the more her throat closed, and she was choking. Desperately she tried to heave in air, tried to breathe, but her efforts were futile. She stumbled, almost blind, through the Hyuuga compound, until her feet no longer were touching grass, and instead sand twisted between her toes._

_That was when a weight settled on her chest and she began to hack up sand in great, heaving, choking gasps. It fell past her lips like a waterfall, burning her mouth and throat and nose. She was on all fours, the weight on her chest only getting heavier, until a sharp pain radiated across her throat._

"_Wake up, Hinata," came a soft, sweet, deadly voice._

"_N-no," Hinata whimpered back between broken sobs and coughs._

"_Hinata, wake up, the knife will only go deeper as long as you keep your eyes closed," said the voice, one that seemed both familiar and alien at the same time._

_Hinata's jaw trembled, and she shook her head. "N… no," she moaned._

She was brutally woken by the sharp pain that stung her cheek as someone's palm connected with her jaw, slapping her awake. Unable to sit up, she struggled, until she felt the blade of a kunai place itself directly back over her neck.

"Shh, Hinata, don't struggle," came the voice, and Hinata was suddenly paralysed with fear.

She realised – far too late – that she was not alone in her room.

Someone was sitting on her chest. Someone had a weapon to her throat. Her arms were pinned under the assailant's knees, and her legs had gone numb. A dull ache ran throughout her body, from her shoulders all the way down to her toes. Their head was next to Hinata's ear, so she couldn't see their face. She felt material move against her cheek, and realised that they were wearing a crude mask.

"Don't move or I'll kill you," they said, and Hinata found that the voice was distinctly _female._ They pressed the kunai harder against her throat so as to give more weight to the threat. Hinata gave a barely perceptible nod to show that she understood. Immediately her mind jumped to the weapons pouch she kept hidden in her drawers.

"Don't even think about it," she whispered, mouth moving against Hinata's ear. "I've disabled most of your chakra points. You won't be able to move for a while."

Hinata recognised the ache in her legs as one that came when specific chakra points had been severed, and felt panic stir in her throat.

"Wh- who are you? What do you want?" Hinata asked, trying to force confidence into her voice.

Unexpectedly, a girlish giggle, muffled slightly by the crude mask she was wearing, slithered past her ears. "Don't use your Byakugan. I'll kill you if you do." The voice turned serious unexpectedly, wiping all traces of immaturity from the situation. Hinata felt beads of blood drip down her throat as they pressed the kunai deeper.

She raised her head then, and Hinata was shocked into silence upon seeing the pearl eyes and protruding veins of the Byakugan. "Don't you know who I am?" When Hinata didn't respond, she rolled her eyes and giggled. "I want everything, Hinata," she said softly, gently dragging the kunai across the sensitive skin at Hinata's neck. The voice was childish and terrifying all at once. "I want to take my rightful place in the Hyuuga household. I want those who discarded me dead. I will take _everything_ you know and love away from you, Hinata. And then I will kill you. But not yet." She drew the weapon away, and Hinata pulled in a great, gasping breath of air. "Not yet," she reiterated, flashing her Byakugan and climbing off the bed. "Soon, but not yet."

And with that, she was gone.

Hinata screamed.

* * *

**So what do you all think? I love hearing your ideas and opinions, please never feel worried to leave them. I wonder who Hinata's little… visitor could be ;) Let me know your thoughts, and please leave a review, especially if you favourite! I love hearing from you all!**

**Much love, Sapphire xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter took **_**forever**_** to do. There was so much to include! Thank you so much to the wonderful people who reviewed last chapter, words can't express my gratitude, and I hope that this chapter makes it up a little.**

**watchingtherain1  
Hyuga09  
Hinatalicious  
witchybitch  
Tamani  
guest – **Hmm, all wonderful theories! I can't give anything away, but definitely keep thinking about it!  
**KiunoNamu  
Coco – **I look forward to hearing your ideas and explanations, and thank you so much for reviewing :)  
**Gabster357 – **Thank you so much, and definitely share anything going through your head!  
**Guest – **We'll get news of Konoha from other characters as the story progresses, and there may be a scene shown in Konoha, but I can't guarantee anything. It's predominantly Hinata's PoV, so pretty much everything will stay in Suna. Thank you so much for your review! :)  
**CAR – **I'm so glad you're excited, thank you so much for reviewing! :)

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 8**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

It was the early hours of the morning, and as was normal, Gaara patrolled the silent streets of his city. All was still, as was to be expected. It was unusual for something strange to happen, and when it did, it was often small and easily resolved.

He was only a few streets away from Hinata's small apartment. Something in his gut – instinct, maybe – had told him to stay close to her that night. But as dawn crept closer, he began to wonder if it was truly instinct that had called to him, and not his growing affection for the young Hyuuga heiress.

He wasn't going to lie to himself about the fact that he cared for her. He feared those feelings; rejected them with all his being. They were foreign to him, a weakness that he loathed. He couldn't afford to be weak when he was the Kazekage. His city was his priority. His people were his family, and he couldn't risk their happiness or safety because of the growing affections he felt for a girl who was in love with his best friend. No, he didn't particularly welcome the feelings, but he wouldn't lie to himself about them either.

Gaara wasn't a fool. Naruto was possibly the only person in the world who was oblivious to Hinata's evident love for him. Everything about her screamed it. Gaara knew she still loved him, even if her feelings had begun to wane during her stay in Suna. He didn't know what had happened between them both. But Gaara knew he owed Naruto everything, especially happiness. And if Hinata was the one who could give that to Naruto, then Gaara felt in his bones that he had no business interfering with that.

But still, something had happened. Hinata had been steadfast in her feelings for Naruto for years. He had first noticed during the Chuunin Exams all those years ago; had seen it as a weakness he could exploit should the chance arise. And all passing comments regarding her through mutual friends had indicated that her feelings had only grown since then. Two months away from him should not have caused them to falter, unless she was actively trying to get over him – and all her behaviour towards Gaara so far had suggested that.

Gaara didn't know what to think or how to feel about the situation. The choice was Hinata's to make, and unless Hinata wanted him to, he wouldn't interfere. He wouldn't make his feelings unnecessarily known. He had dealt with pain before, he could again. It was nothing new to him.

The sky began to grow lighter; night was waning and would soon give way to dawn. Gaara made the decision to turn back to the Kazekage Tower and attempt to get some sleep before full light, before a scream tore through the air and stopped him in his tracks. It came from the direction of Hinata's apartment, and Gaara didn't even stop to think before he flew towards her, using the sand to further his already blinding speed. He felt the first stirrings of fear settle in the pit of his gut, urging himself to go faster, _faster,_ terrified of the sight that should befall him if he didn't make it in time. He desperately tried to reassure himself that Hinata was an incredibly powerful ninja, and she was more than capable to taking care of herself, but that scream… that scream wasn't full of rage or battle-lust. That scream was lathered in _fear._

He made it to her apartment, and in his haste to get to her he didn't see the shadow of a young woman dart away. He blasted a torrent of sand at her door, and all but tore the wretched thing off its hinges, before he ran inside, almost stumbling with his speed. _What if he was too late? What if she was dead? What would he say to Hiashi?_

_What would he tell Naruto?_

Panic welled like bile in his throat. He sped to her room, sensing her in there, and slammed the door open, looking around wild-eyed for the carnage that had brought on her scream.

"Gaara!" she shrieked, looking at him with pearl eyes that were glazed with fear. "Gaara I can't move! Sh-she was here, she was _here,_ she…" she broke down into horrified sobs, and Gaara could see the veins in her neck straining – she was trying to move, and was evidently unable to.

"What happened?" he asked, his thrumming heartbeat beginning to settle upon finding her alive. He walked over to her, wanting to offer comfort but unsure how. He watched as her fingers came to life, then her hand and then her arm began to move. "Who was here?"

"Sh-_she_! She had the Byakugan, she severed my chakra points, I c-can't _move!_ Help me, Kami, p-please help me Gaara." She was weeping unashamedly, working on moving her arms.

Gaara's eyes widened, and then softened fractionally, before he sat down next to her. He helped her sit up, being as gentle as he knew how to be, which wasn't very, considering he rarely had cause to be gentle, and was greatly out of practise when it came to touching others. He was unprepared when she managed to lean over to him and wrap her arms around his shoulders, heaving great, gulping sobs into his chest. In his rib cage, his heart stuttered, and he was grateful that it was still dark so she couldn't see the pink stain on his cheeks. He forced himself to stay still and not reciprocate her embrace – he didn't want to frighten her.

"I-it was Hinari, I'm certain of it," Hinata eventually whispered, her words muffled. Gaara stiffened underneath her hold. _Hinari? But how?_ "I don't know how or why, but I'm certain she was here. Sh-she told me that she would… that she would take away everything and everyone I know and love. That she would k-_kill_ me. How is she even _alive?_ I thought she died at birth. That's what all the files said, I saw her _grave,_ Gaara. But who else could it be? She was too young to be Hanabi. She had the Byakugan, she was trained in it. I have so many questions, I don't know where to begin. I was so frightened, I thought she was going to k-kill me. She had a k-kunai to my throat and… and oh _Kami,_ I think I'm bleeding on you!" She made to pull away, but without consciously registering the movement Gaara wrapped his arms around her and held her to him.

"I don't care," he said softly under his breath. These feelings were foreign to him, but they weren't unwelcome. Hinata wasn't like his uncle. She had no cause to harm him. Surely he could indulge himself in something as harmless as a hug? He was trying to offer comfort, after all. Hinata had just been traumatised by the ghost of her sister – a sister that was supposed to be dead. If he could offer her comfort and quell her fears, then he would do just that.

She nodded, ignoring how rude it was of her to drip blood all over his robes. She was sure that, as a Kazekage _and_ a ninja (a formerly insane and homicidal one at that), he was use to a little blood.

"I know I have no right to ask this of you, but will you… will you stay with me tonight?" She felt him stiffen with trepidation under her hold, and could tell that he was on the verge of fleeing. She didn't want to push him too far – the world knew what horrors had tormented his past – but she needed someone to stay with her, and Gaara was possibly the only person in all of Suna whom she trusted. She was quick to continue, lest he pull away and leave. "Please, Gaara-sama? I don't… I don't want to be alone, not after…" her body heaved with a shuddering breath and she squeezed her eyes shut, desperately fighting the frightening images emblazoned on the back of her eyelids. No, she couldn't be alone. Not after what had just happened to her.

He jerked a small nod, and she relaxed, scooting closer as more movement returned to her body. He buried his nose in the crown of her head, indulging himself in her warmth and closeness. Kami, how could he leave her alone after this? Her presence, her warmth felt like a narcotic, seeping through his blood and his bones, leaving him craving more and unable to express that need. He stayed still, and hoped it was the right thing to do. He didn't know how to comfort, but he was willing to learn. If that was all he was allowed to do, then he would give her that.

When she had fallen asleep less than an hour later, he allowed himself to run his fingers over her hair, the tips kissing the deep indigo tresses with feather-light touches, and marvelled at how smooth it felt beneath his fingertips. She was made of midnight and moonlight, he was certain, and wondered at how she could sleep curled against a broken monster such as him.

* * *

She awoke to the kiss of dawn, and buried her face further into her pillow to escape wakefulness. Her bed was warm, and she slowly registered that Gaara was still next to her. His chest rose and fell slowly with sleep, and instead of scooting away as she would have done under other circumstances, she took the moment to survey him.

He was very handsome. She had always acknowledged that. Even as a child, and a raging psychopath, he had been handsome. However her heart had always been stubbornly set on Naruto. There had been other boys more attractive than Naruto: Sasuke, Kiba, Gaara, just to name a few. But Naruto had always had something about him that she felt the other boys lacked; there was a fire, a determination about him that she had always loved, had always admired. He could be gentle, he could be fierce, he could be stupid, intelligent, proud, humble, lazy, determined. There were so many facets to Naruto that had always drawn her to him, and she had wanted to peel the layers away, explore them, revel in them, and know every single part of him intimately. There was so much strength in Naruto, and it had given her strength. His determination had fuelled her own; his kindness, passion, love for others had always inspired her to be the best person she could be. She had always acknowledged him as one of the best – if not _the_ best – person that Konoha had to offer.

She had never thought that asking him to acknowledge her strength had been too much to request.

But Hanabi had come, riding on a wave of anger and jealousy, and had taken away one of the people that Hinata valued most. Hinata still couldn't fathom _why_ Hanabi had done what she did. They'd had a good relationship, hadn't they? They'd never been extremely close, per se, but they had shared a sisterly bond. Hinata had loved her sister. She'd always been proud of her achievements (if a little jealous of the natural talents that Hanabi possessed), had supported her in every way she knew how. She didn't understand how Hanabi could have taken Naruto away from her – purely out of spite – after everything they had been through together.

She sighed and pushed Hanabi from her mind. The wound that Hanabi had inflicted may no longer have been fresh, but it still stung. She knew she needed to move on. She needed to let go of Naruto; forget Hanabi's betrayal, and move on with her life. How could she possibly make a future for herself if she couldn't let go of her past?

Focusing her attention back on the sleeping boy – no, man, really – she was able to more distinctly see his features.

He was so different to Naruto.

Naruto's face was that of a boy's – round, tanned, his eyes wide and his smile cheeky. Gaara's structure was far more mature, the bones creating sharp angles, mouth severe, jaw strong. It was an attractive face, for an entirely different reason, and Hinata was surprised by just how attracted she was to it. His skin was pale, which she found strange, considering he lived in the desert. His hair was blood red, the same colour as the kanji scar above his left eye. When she looked closely, she could see very fine, pale hairs where his eyebrows were. The infamous dark rings around his eyes had not faded when he had ceased being a Jinchuuriki, and she figured that, like the kanji scar, the marks would be forever engraved in his skin.

His eyes fluttered open, and she blushed when he turned his teal gaze on her, mortified at having been caught staring so openly at him. His eyes appraised her for a moment, before he sat up and ran a hand through his hair. Hinata felt an unexplainable need to run her fingers through the red locks, to see if they were as soft as they looked.

"Gaara," she asked quietly, forcing herself to be calm and think rationally. "If Hinari didn't die at birth, then that means someone raised her. Does Suna have an orphanage?"

He thought for a moment before he answered her. "Suna does have an orphanage, however it's only a few years old. It was only built after the Fourth Shinobi War. Before that, all orphans were sent to the Monks at the Wind Temple."

Hinata nodded at this new information, her mind reeling. "I need to go there. I need to find out more about her."

He looked at her for a moment, his face blank, before his attention moved to something just beyond her shoulder. "It's nearly seven," he said quietly. "You should get to the hospital."

Hinata's stomach dropped, and she was out of bed faster than she'd ever moved in her life. "Kami, I'm so sorry Gaara-sama for keeping you here all night, oh Gods, I have to get dressed, I need to eat something, _shit!_"

She could see out of her peripherals that he shot her an amused looked, and it annoyed her. She rarely swore. She didn't see why it was so funny.

She ran through her room like a hurricane, upending chairs, trying to find a change of clothes, and wildly attempting to organise herself. "Shit, shit, _shit!_" she half shrieked, completely forgetting that Gaara was in the room still when she began getting changed. Mortified, he left, and decided to make her breakfast. She was out before he had thought of anything and snatched an apple from a small fruit bowl before dashing for the hospital. "Goodbye Gaara-sama, and thank you for your help last night!" she called behind her and slammed the door.

Gaara let out a huff of air and chuckled quietly to himself, shaking his head. She was by far one of the most interesting people he had ever met.

* * *

Hinata had allocated the day before the exam to be an in-class study day, so all the students were quietly scribbling notes and occasionally asking her a question. This afforded Hinata a valuable opportunity to think about what had transpired the previous night, and what she would do about it.

It was clear to her that Hinari was still somehow alive. It was the only thing that made sense. Hinata was supposed to be the only Hyuuga within Suna. If any other had come then she would have been notified right away. Which meant that either Hinari lived outside the walls, but close to Suna, or she was living within Suna but in disguise. Hinata had a strange feeling that it was the latter.

She certainly wasn't using Genjutsu, that much was obvious. If she were, Hinata would be able to see through it with her Byakugan, and she couldn't imagine that Hinari would take the risk.

_Dammit,_ the whole situation had become so incredibly dangerous overnight. What had started as a mystery regarding her mother's death had turned into her sister not only being alive, but making it apparent that she would have no qualms killing the entire Hyuuga Clan.

Did she even possess that kind of power? Hinata doubted it, but something about her had seemed… off when she had come to Hinata. Like she wasn't completely there. Almost as if she was a little insane, and it worried the young Hyuuga heiress. More than she was willing to admit.

She knew that she would need to write her father regarding the incident, but first wanted to learn more about Hinari. She would go to the Wind Temple after the test the next day and find whatever information she could, and then confront her father about it.

She spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to figure out how she would get to the Wind Temple. She had no idea where it was – her only point of reference was that it did _not_ reside within the walls of Suna. That only left the surrounding desert, and Hinata didn't fancy getting lost in the scorching tundra. While she could buy a map, she figured that it would be easier to go with someone who not only knew where they were going, but knew how to handle the Monks.

Her first choice of person to accompany her was Gaara, but she almost instantly decided against it. He was the _Kazekage._ She doubted that he would be able to spare the hours it would take to go with her, even if he did want to.

_If._ She wouldn't admit it aloud, but the idea of traversing the desert with him, _alone,_ was a far more desirable prospect than she had ever thought it would be. Even if it would only be for a few hours.

She was immediately mortified by the thoughts. Since when had she begun to think of _Gaara_ in such a way? Normally it was Naruto she had fantasised about. Somehow, in the past two months, Naruto's place in her future had become blurred, far less clear than it used to be. It had never been particularly set, anyway. Her future with him had always been mere fantasies, coupled with the rare uplifting expression from him. Expressions that she had always blown way out of proportion, latched onto for months, years on end, pretended that they meant more than they did.

It had tortured her for most of her life, this unrequited love she'd felt for him. And quite frankly, she was sick of it. She was sick of spending her life waiting for someone who had made it more than obvious that he didn't see her in that way, and would never see her in that way. She couldn't push feelings that weren't there. She was done trying to.

Naruto was in her past. Naruto would always be a good friend to her, but that was all he would ever be. She had to stop holding on to something that would never happen, and start focusing on a future that could happen.

Maybe a future involving Gaara?

She shook her head. That couldn't happen. Gaara was the Kazekage. She was the Heir to one of the most powerful Clans in the whole world. It just wasn't possible.

She closed her eyes and refocused on her venture to the Wind Temple. The only other person she could think of that would go with her (especially someone who knew the way) was Nise. Hinata was certain that she had mentioned that she had been raised by Monks.

"_My mother is buried here too," Nise said suddenly. Hinata looked at her, wondering why she would tell her that. "The Monks never told me her name. They just said that my father died protecting someone he loved, and my mother died soon after that. I like to think he died protecting her."_

So she had definitely been raised by Monks, Hinata thought, putting the pieces together. She would even suspect Nise if it weren't for her eyes. They were blue in colour, for starters, and evidently quite sensitive as they were always watering and the girl was always rubbing them. Definitely not Hyuuga eyes. Every Hyuuga Hinata knew had strong eyes between the shades of white and mother-of-pearl. Certainly not sensitive, and definitely not Nise's bright blue.

As everyone filed out of the classroom at the end of the day, she decided that she would ask for Nise's help after the exam.

* * *

The exam passed quickly the next day, and as everyone began to pack up their belongings and leave, Hinata called Nise to her desk.

"What do you want?" Nise asked, just a hint of annoyance in her tone. Hinata figured that that was due to her lack of help with the test.

"I need to go to the Wind Temple and I want you to come with me. You mentioned a while ago that you had been raised by the Monks."

Nise made a face, showing her dissatisfaction with Hinata's request. "Why on earth do you want to go there? And why the hell do I need to go with you? That's just stupid."

Hinata sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll tell you why on the way. I can't here. I don't know how to get there and you do. Meet at the front gates in an hour?"

Nise rolled her eyes, but agreed with a sigh. "_Fine._ Kami, if you're so damned incompetent that you can't take yourself then I don't know why you're in line to become the next leader of the Hyuuga."

Hinata nearly attacked the girl. Nearly. But if she wanted the rest of her time in Suna to go smoothly she knew that she needed the girl on her side, and that probably wouldn't happen if she attacked her.

Although, knowing Nise, she'd probably be happy for the fight. Hinata took a deep breath to calm herself. "You're being pathetic and petulant, Nise. Stop acting like a child and meet me at the gates in an hour." She surprised herself with her words but didn't regret them. It was the truth, after all. And when it came to Nise, offence always seemed to be the best defence.

Nise nodded, apparently impressed. "See you then."

**.:{~}:.**

Nise's version of an hour turned out to be an hour and seventeen minutes, it seemed. Hinata impatiently tapped her foot, waiting for the frustrating fourteen year old to arrive, and had just decided to go look for her when Nise's dark hair appeared amongst the crowd. She sighed a breath of relief and stood up to meet the girl – she had feared for a moment that Nise's pride would not allow her to come.

"Lead the way oh mighty Hyuuga Heiress!" Nise called, a heavy layer of sarcasm permeating her tone. "Oh wait, you can't. You don't know where the hell you're going. Best follow me, then!" She flounced past Hinata, her nose turned up in the most ridiculous display of arrogance Hinata had ever seen. Said girl rolled her eyes, already dreading the trip. Kami, why had she thought that bringing Nise along would be a good idea?

"How long does it take to get there?" Hinata asked, keeping stride easily with the young girl. Nise turned appraising eyes on Hinata, as if deciding whether giving her an answer would be worth the energy.

"Half an hour," she eventually said, turning to look at the desert. Hinata looked back at Suna longingly. It would be a long half hour. "So can you tell me why the hell I'm leading your annoying ass to the Temple now?"

Hinata swallowed her anger and worked to calm herself. _Don't attack her, don't attack her, _Kami_ you _mustn't_ attack her!_

"Hinari's alive," she eventually said quietly. "I'm sure she is. She attacked me the other night when I was asleep. If she's alive, that means that she would've been an orphan and had to grow up somewhere. The Monks are the only ones who would've taken her in, and maybe they have a file on her. It's the only lead I've got."

Nise's eyes shot up at that, but she otherwise didn't react. "Hinari? You mentioned her before, didn't you? I thought you said she was dead."

Hinata nodded. "I thought she was, until the attack. Didn't you grow up in the Temple? Maybe you knew her."

Nise looked puzzled for a moment as she searched through her memory. "Hinari… um… what would she have looked like?"

"Similar to me, I would assume."

"Uhh… so, like, eyes and shit?"

Hinata nodded, feeling her patience wither. "Yes, Nise. Eyes and shit."

"Oooooh, Hinata's getting antsy! The proper little lady said a bad word! Naughty Hinata, what would your father say about this?" Nise teased, a grin on her face.

Hinata almost had to physically stay her hand. "Did you know her?" she asked through clenched teeth. No one had ever managed to get under her skin the way Nise did, and the girl was obviously enjoying it more than she had any right to.

Nise whistled, enjoying Hinata's frustration. "I think so. Maybe when we were little. I remember the white eyes." She moved her thumb and forefinger into circles and placed them over her eyes in mock imitation. "Anyway, she might have been adopted out. There was probably a big demand for disinherited Hyuuga kids at one stage. Maybe. Eh, can't really remember. Name rings a little bell though. Come on, we're getting close. The Temple's not far from here."

As they continued through the tundra, Nise continued speaking. "So Hinari's alive, you say? You know, if she's threatening you in your sleep then you should probably step up the security around your house. What if she attacks again? Like, I know I'm not exactly your biggest fan, but I don't really want you dead. She sounds dangerous."

Hinata nodded, taking in her words. Added security around where she was sounded smart. There was only so much she could sense in her sleep.

"I don't know how detailed the Monks scrolls are on all the kids that came through," she continued as they entered the Temple grounds. "All the kids were transferred to the orphanage in the walls once the war finished. From what I heard they just kept all the records for the Kazekage. They had records on all the prominent Clans throughout the nations and…" Nise stopped dead in her tracks, staring wide eyed at the Temple opening.

"What is it, Nise?" Hinata asked, turning a confused glance at the girl.

She blinked, a worried crease forming between her brows. "Smoke…" she whispered, and Hinata struggled to hear her. "There's smoke coming from the Temple… there's not… we weren't allowed fires in the Temple…" She took off at a run, climbing the steps three at a time. Hinata watched her, baffled for a moment, before she followed her.

Nise beat her there, and Hinata was only a few steps from the top before a strangled scream streaked past her ears. Feeling the initial stirrings of fear settle in her stomach, she raced faster, clearing the stairs within moments. "Nise, what's…?"

The blood fled from her face and she felt her stomach flip over. She nearly gagged.

Littering the floor, not one of them whole, were the Monks of the Wind Temple.

Hinata felt bile rise up in her throat, but managed to swallow it back down and keep her composure enough to comfort the now weeping Nise. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, but the young girl quickly swatted it away.

"Don't _touch_ me, Hinata! They… oh Kami… they _raised _me, and now they're… they're…" she collapsed into a fit of sobbing, leaning her head against Hinata's breast. Hinata had never seen someone so distressed. The situation was only amplified as it was Nise who was dry heaving with tears, her fingers clawing at Hinata in her devastation. Not knowing what to say, Hinata wrapped her arms around the girl in a tight embrace.

"We need to let the Kazekage know," she eventually said gently after Nise's sobs had died down. "We need to find out who did this."

She could just make out the charred remains of scrolls as they burned underneath small fires, and knew in her gut that all the records would have been destroyed.

"The Monks were all trained in the ninja arts," Nise eventually choked out, still sniffling. "They gave all the kids basic training. Only someone really powerful could have done this."

Hinata nodded, and activated her Byakugan to see if she couldn't see anything important from where she sat with Nise.

In amongst the broken bodies and burnt scrolls, an untouched piece of paper sat near a torch sconce. There was writing on it, but Hinata couldn't make it out.

"Nise, go down to the gardens, there's something I need to see," Hinata said softly, patting the girl in support. She nodded and, choking back tears, began to walk back down the stairs.

Hinata walked into the Temple, taking care to not disturb anything lest she damage any evidence. Upon reaching the note, she picked it up and opened it.

Her blood turned to ice. Three words, written in blood, with an almost childlike quality to the script. And Hinata knew immediately who had written it.

_I'm coming, Hinata._

* * *

**Mid semester break has just finished, so it's back to uni for me… ugh. What did you think of the chapter? Please leave feedback, I love hearing from you, especially if you happen to favourite.**

**Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave me a review! :)**

**Much love, Sapphire xo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much to the lovely people who reviewed, it's always appreciated. I just wanted to say, though, that there's been a pretty big decline in the amount of reviews I've been getting. Please don't think I'm ungrateful, the completely opposite. Just hurts a little when the view count is close to 300 and the review count doesn't even hit 10. If you're able, I would really, really appreciate some feedback :)**

**Hyuga09 – **Hmm… maybe! There's a possibility in every theory! Thanks so much for reviewing as always, honey :)  
**Witchy Bitch  
TheAlleyKat  
KiunoNamu  
WarFlower  
Tamani  
guest – **I'm just full of surprises ;) Thank you so much for leaving a review!  
**Gabster357 – **The plot thickens indeed! Thank you for reviewing :)  
**Anne – **Thank you so much for your reviews, and while I'm not giving anything away, you should definitely keep theorising!

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 9**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

When Nise and Hinata arrived back in Suna, they made a beeline for the Kazekage Tower.

Hinata knew that Gaara would probably be busy, but she didn't care. All of the Monks at the Wind Temple had been slaughtered, and all signs pointed towards Hinari being the perpetrator.

The very idea that Hinari could be powerful enough to kill them all with apparent ease terrified Hinata. As Nise had said, all of the Monks were trained in the ninja arts, and Hinari couldn't be older than fourteen. And yet she was already so strong.

What possibly scared Hinata even more than Hinari being so strong was that she knew Hinata was going to the Wind Temple. How could she have known? Hinata had only decided to go there the day previously, and it wasn't as if she had been publicly vocal with her intentions. Hinari had to have been somewhere close to Hinata so as to overhear her plans. The idea was petrifying. Could it have been a person in her class? She immediately ruled the thought out. There was no one in her class who looked like they belonged to the Hyuuga, and only Nise was the appropriate age. And if Nise's lack of Byakugan hadn't convinced Hinata that she wasn't Hinari, then her reaction at the Temple had.

Could it have been someone at the hospital? Hinata doubted that. She was sure that if there was another Hyuuga in town then she would have been told.

Who, then, could it be? Try as she might, no matter how much Hinata wracked her brain, she couldn't come to an answer.

The concept that maybe Hinari wasn't trying to hide herself stuttered its way into her thoughts. Was it possible that Hinari, as she was, was stalking Hinata and overhearing her plans? She wasn't sure how she could, but after Hinari's evident display of power and potential insanity, she couldn't rule it out. Hinari seemed, from what Hinata could garner of the girl, to enjoy dancing with danger. She couldn't rule out the possibility of Hinari stalking her.

They reached the Kazekage Tower out of breath, and the two guards stationed in front of it raised their eyebrows in silent question.

"We need to… see the Kazekage… immediately," huffed Hinata, her face red from exertion. Nise didn't look much better. They had basically sprinted there from the Temple, after all.

The guards looked baffled, and made a move to deny their request before Temari answered the door. She took one look at Hinata and nodded both her and Nise inside, closing the door behind them.

"What's happened?" she demanded as soon as they were alone, arms crossed in front of her chest.

Nise and Hinata glanced at each other, not knowing what to say. Hinata could tell that Temari wouldn't let them pass her unless they told her exactly what had made them so distraught.

"I…" Hinata began, and Temari focused her intense gaze on her, unblinking.

"What?" Temari insisted when Hinata fell silent. Temari could see ghosts in Hinata's eyes, and needed to know what was happening before they went to Gaara. She couldn't risk him being put in danger with damning accusations.

Hinata gulped before continuing, knowing that Nise would be unable to enunciate what had happened to the Monks.

"We… we went to the Wind Temple. I think I have a third sister, and she is alive, here in Suna. I… I thought that the… the Monks… that they would have records on her. We went to the Temple, and… and she had got there first. Hinari. I _know_ it was her. She… she _killed_ them. _Slaughtered_ them. They were torn apart. All of them." Hinata heard Nise sniff next to her, and from her peripherals saw the girl wipe her eyes. "She left me a note," Hinata continued, fishing the paper from her pocket. She handed it to Temari and the blonde girl's eyes grew wide. "She burned all the scrolls in the Temple, too. I need to tell Gaara. We need to investigate this. We need to find out where Hinari is hiding."

Temari stared at the paper a few moments longer. "Hinari is this sister you mentioned?" she eventually questioned, and Hinata nodded.

"She's threatened me in my home, and now this letter."

She could see Temari swallow the lump in her throat, before indicating that the two girls should follow her.

In amongst her anxiety and stress regarding everything that had happened in the past hour, Hinata couldn't help but glance around her as they wandered further and further into the Kazekage Tower. She could have sworn that it didn't look half as big on the outside compared to the inside. She assumed that it spiralled upwards from the middle of the Tower, as the halls sloped upwards on a steady incline, and there were no windows in the passageways, only candles mounted on braziers between doorways. The walls, like every other building in Suna, were made of a saffron coloured clay, and the doors a strange, glossy wood that she had never seen in Konoha. The candles bounced shadows onto the walls, dancing and flickering in her peripherals, creating an eerie feeling of being followed. She had to force herself to not turn around; Temari and Nise were in front, and she knew that no one was behind her.

Eventually, they came to an unremarkable door, identical to all the others that they had passed.

"This is Gaara's study," Temari said, knocking on the door. They heard Gaara call out a "Yes?" in invitation, and Temari opened the door to let Hinata inside, closing it behind her. Hinata went to raise her voice in protest, wanting to query why Nise couldn't join her, before Gaara interrupted her.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" he asked. Hinata turned to face him, and almost had to shield her eyes from sunlight. A large window was situated behind his desk, a complete anomaly amongst the common porthole windows normally seen in Suna. It allowed a magnificent view of the whole city, encapsulating everything in its frame. Gaara's desk was made of the same glossy wood that the doors were made from, and although almost overflowing, was evidently organised.

At least three piles of paperwork, all over a foot high, were stacked next to each other, with a fourth that Gaara was obviously half way through, if the papers in front of him were any indication. As well as the papers, a tin full of pens and pencils sat in a corner, flanked by two picture frames: one depicting his siblings mid-way through a friendly brawl and one of his parents, standing formally side by side.

"Hinata?" Gaara pushed, taking note of her silence and her slight trembling.

She opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn't. The very thought of telling him what she had seen sent bile up her throat, and she fought to suppress the images so that she may tell him what had happened. She took a deep breath to calm herself –

– then burst into tears.

Within moments she was enveloped by supportive arms, and she buried her face into his chest. She could feel him tense, evidently unused to having someone welcome comfort from him, and then forced himself to relax.

"What is it? What happened?" he pressed, startled at how strong her emotions were regarding whatever had happened.

"It… it was horrible," Hinata gasped, forcing the disturbing flashbacks from her mind. "I… I went with Nise to the Wind Temple. I just wanted to see if they had any records on Hinari. When we got there, they… oh _Kami,_ all of the Monks had been _slaughtered!_ They were all dead! They'd been ripped to pieces, there were body parts everywhere. And all of the records had been burned. Hinari did it. I _know_ she did it. She left me a note telling me that she's coming. I'm so scared, I don't know what to do." She sobbed into his chest freely.

Gaara was frozen. He had forgotten to breathe until his lungs burned for oxygen. His mind was spinning with thoughts that made no sense. He wanted to protect Hinata, he wanted to avenge all of the innocent Monks who had been murdered in cold blood, he wanted to find Hinari and _destroy_ her.

But of course none of that was practical. Hinata was more than capable of protecting herself; the Monks couldn't be avenged without Hinari's death, and as Hinari was a Hyuuga it would be almost blasphemous if he took it upon himself to be judge, jury and executioner.

"I'll need to inform your father about what has happened," Gaara said eventually, extracting himself from her. "He'll need to send someone out here to find Hinari and take her back to your Clan."

Hinata wiped her eyes and nodded, forcing her emotions back under control.

"In the meantime, I want to change your living quarters and have someone guard you."

Hinata felt fury rise up inside her at that last. Guard her? She wasn't a child! She was nearly a _Jounin_, for Kami's sake! She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She was certain that she had proven that when she had held her own against Gaara, the freaking Kazekage! She was about to voice those opinions, along with a few other choice words, when he held up his hands to explain himself.

"It's not that I don't think you can take care of yourself, Hinata. I know that you can. But if Hinari comes to you in your sleep again, or manages to catch you off guard, I want to make sure that you have backup on hand. Besides, your father would kill me if any harm came to you. It's just a precaution, I swear."

Eyeing him, evidently displeased (though understanding of his reasoning), Hinata fired off another question.

"Why do I need to move, then? And where will I move to? I happen to like my little house," she said, indignant. Her fingers were itching for a fight after the rollercoaster of a day she'd had.

Gaara, however, seemed adamant in not giving her the fight she so desperately craved, as he calmly replied with: "She's already made it clear that she can break into that house. It's not secure enough, and I can't risk the safety of someone so important. You can stay here, in the Tower. It's one of the most secure places in Suna. She won't be able to get you here."

Hinata glared at him. Once, she had had the ability to remain calm in the face of a tempest.

Then she grew up. And she found that underneath all of her unearthly patience and calm, a storm sat, waiting for the day where it would be needed.

She could feel it beginning to rage.

Not only had she not proven herself strong enough in the eyes of Naruto, but now _Gaara?_ She could have sworn that he thought better of her than that. Could have sworn that he thought she was strong, capable, able to face enemies on her own and not falter or fail. She wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or cry at the injustice. Hours of blood, sweat, screams, and tears, only to be assumed weak. She felt like she was ten all over again, her father's blows beating her back, his furious voice shrieking out "Again! Again! Again!" until she blacked out from exhaustion. And Hanabi, perfect, prodigy Hanabi, doing everything perfect within one or two tries.

Hinata loved her sister, but the jealousy nearly consumed her sometimes.

"I don't want to move, Gaara!" she argued, forcing back the scream. "I like my house, I like my room, I like my little kitchen, and I don't want to move!"

She could see irritation spark in his eyes, and hoped that he would rise to meet her anger.

"I don't get a choice in this, and neither do you," he said eventually. "You are my honoured guest here in Suna, if any harm were to come to you it could ruin Suna's ties with Konoha. I won't risk that. You will move here, and that's final."

If her stare were knives, Gaara would have been riddled with holes.

He folded his arms in front of his chest, and with narrowed eyes, held her glare, using his height over her to intimidate her.

Hinata refused to let herself be. She had seen Sasuke and Sakura do this exact same stance whenever they argued, and as intimidating as Gaara could be, the Uchiha was far more daunting in an argument.

It lasted far longer than Hinata had initially assumed it would, and to her surprise, Gaara was the first to break his stance.

"You stay, but on my terms," he ground out between clenched teeth. She nearly whooped for joy.

"Fine," she spat out instead.

"Kankuro will be the one to guard you until your father sends a replacement."

"What makes you think -"

"I will _ask_ him to send a replacement," Gaara interrupted before she could question him. He had started pacing, and she forced herself to not act smug. He was annoyed, and it was _wonderful._

"You are not to go _anywhere_ without someone I have approved of to accompany you."

"I am more than capable -!"

"As _backup,_ Hinata! Stop arguing with me, dammit!" He'd rounded the side of his desk and was leaning on it heavily with both hands. "Yes, you are more than _capable_ of fighting on your own, but _just in case_ you need help there will be someone there!"

Hinata took a deep breath then nodded her assent. "Anything else?"

"If there is anything even slightly suspicious then you tell me first. Hinari has proven that she is dangerous. I won't have you become her next victim."

He seemed to almost wait for her indignant refusal, but when it didn't come, he continued.

"And lastly, you are not to tell _anyone_ about what has happened. I will not have Suna in an uproar. You will go about your daily activities normally, you will not leave Suna, you will not go out after dark, and Kami, _please_ don't go looking for her."

Hinata let out a huff of aggravation, but eventually conceded to his terms.

"I have a request," she said, and he made a motion with his hands asking her to voice it. "If you hear anything about Hinari, you tell me. And if you find her, I want to go and help catch her."

She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't happy with her appeal, but when his shoulders slumped slightly she knew that he would acquiesce to it.

"Okay," he said, though the word sounded a little forced. "If we hear anything regarding her, you'll be the first to know. And if we find her… you'll come with us to catch her."

She smiled at that, a genuine smile. He was still looking at his desk, evidently at war with himself, so she padded softly towards him and embraced him around the middle. "Thank you, Gaara," she said.

She didn't see him smile, but she didn't need to, as he managed to put an arm awkwardly around her and hug her back.

* * *

That night, when the city had gone to sleep, Hinari danced around her room.

It was small, handkerchief sized. A futon lay in the corner, a table and chair in the middle, and a small pantry for food against the opposite wall. On the table was a vase of flowers. She hummed to herself as she arranged them.

_Pretty girl, mother pearl,  
All fall on the floor.  
Pretty girl, make me hurl,  
Slam her in the door._

_Little flower, rain shower,  
Petals turn to ash.  
Little flower, we devour,  
Smash and slash and crash._

She smiled, the action predatory. She began tearing up the flowers, even though they had been dead for some time. _"Smash and slash and crash. I will see them burn,"_ she hissed to the room, and then she started to giggle gleefully. "They will all burn."

* * *

**So, what did everyone think? What do y'all think of Hinari? Some Gaara-Hinata interaction in this one, I think Hinata's starting to show a little of her feisty side ;) I hope you all had/have a great week, and I'll see you next Sunday :)**

**\- Sapphire xoxo**


	10. Chapter 10

**I think I've somehow died and gone to heaven, because you guys are amazing and have gotten me to 118 reviews in 9 chapters. I actually don't think I can thank you enough, you're so wonderful! Thank you!**

**CAR – **thank you so much for reviewing both chapters, and everything will be resolved, even what happened with Naruto. Just a little further down the track :)  
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**KiunoNamu  
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* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 10**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Kankuro always forgot to take his shoes off whenever he walked into Hinata's little house. He'd trail dust, dirt, and sand down the hallway until Hinata would present him with a broom to sweep it all back out onto the street. After that he would remove his shoes.

On the third day, Hinata had started to keep a broom right by the front door, and would wordlessly hold it out behind her for him to take it.

Apart from the shoes, Kankuro was a welcome face in her home. He reminded her a little of Naruto, if Naruto were intelligent. He was incredibly funny, and always eager to help out.

It was four days after the incident at the Temple. Despite the warm presence that Kankuro exuded, she still felt numb. Her routine, which had seemed so normal earlier, became her focal point. She poured herself into her work. Two more people had failed the last test, and Hinata promised herself that she wouldn't let another person bum out of an exam.

The third month would be dedicated to learning more difficult poisons and viruses, and using chakra to heal. It was a delicate task, one that Hinata knew would take days for her students to figure out, let alone master. She had learnt, like Sakura and Ino, to revive a fish with her chakra. Somehow, she didn't feel that finding a live fish in the desert for nine people would be a possible task. She would need to think of an alternate animal.

She came home late that Tuesday afternoon, after having decided to spar for a while with Kankuro. With Hinari becoming an ever more dangerous threat, Hinata knew that she would need to retain her strength if it came to blows. She refused to be caught by surprise as she had that night Hinari had come to her house.

She was exhausted; sweat and dust clung to her skin like mould. She barely had the energy to make herself dinner, and was grateful when Kankuro pushed her aside to take over the menial task of cooking. She took it upon herself to collapse (rather ungracefully) onto her little sofa.

Within moments, however, a knock sounded at her door, and Hinata had to physically force herself to answer it.

She really shouldn't have been surprised that it was Gaara who stood on the other side, his posture tense but his face bored. But somehow she always felt something akin to electricity run down her spine whenever she'd come face to face with him.

_Shock, _she called it. It was shock.

"A reply from your father has come," he said before she could query, and walked inside at her assumed invitation.

"That was quick," she quipped, closing the door behind him. "I was expecting a two week wait at least."

She saw him roll his eyes as he removed his shoes, then walked into her kitchen, where Kankuro was happily stirring some rice, humming some little ditty under his breath and wearing Hinata's lavender apron.

"Heya Gaara, what's up?" he said in way of greeting, shooting his younger brother a giant grin.

"Hinari business," Gaara replied wearily, sitting down at Hinata's table. "This letter's for you," he continued, and handed the paper to Hinata, who immediately sat opposite him and opened it up.

_Hinata,_

_In light of recent events, I have decided to send Hyuuga Ko to guard you for the rest of your stay in Sunagakure. As soon as your mission is over you are to return home, and should Ko deem the situation too dangerous, you will come back to Konoha immediately. I will not have you risk your life unnecessarily._

_Your father, Hiashi._

Hinata felt a twinge of excitement erupt in her breast at the idea of seeing Ko again. He had been her caretaker as a young child, and had continued to be her guard as she had grown up. He was a lifelong friend, one she had begun to miss while away.

"He's going to send a member of my family to guard me," Hinata said to Gaara's questioning gaze. "His name's Ko. I guess he'll be here tomorrow, some time. Messenger hawks usually take two days to travel and it takes three to go on foot. Did my father send anything to you?"

Gaara nodded wordlessly, before pulling a sheet of paper out from his robes, his name written in the neat kanji script of her father. "He said that he'll be sending a small team of elite tracking ninja to Suna to help with the investigation."

"Sounds fun," Kankuro chimed in from where he was dishing up bowls. "You don't have a bowl, little bro. I didn't know you were coming so I didn't make you any. Hope you're not hungry!" He set a steaming bowl of rice and vegetable soup down in front of Hinata before taking the remaining chair, shovelling mouthfuls of food in faster than he could swallow. "So wha' sa pwan?" he asked between breaths, actively trying to keep his food in his mouth.

Hinata blanched a little, trying to decipher exactly what it was he'd said. Gaara beat her to it, evidently use to his brother's food talk.

"Wait for the team from Konoha to arrive, and give them time to investigate the Temple. After that, I'll announce to Suna that an accident happened at the Temple and it is no longer open to the public until further notice. That's all I think I _can_ do, given the circumstances."

"Have your ninja found anything regarding Hinari?" Hinata asked more delicately between mouthfuls. Kankuro grunted beside her.

"Nothing. Nothing except that note she left you. Temari's taken it to the lab to see if we can find anything, but so far all we've found is piles of ash and body parts."

Hinata couldn't help the shudder that ran down her spine, and pushed the images back. She had seen plenty of war and death in her time; loved ones die right before her eyes. But somehow the bodies of the Monks haunted her where the others did not.

"How are your students coming along?" Gaara asked suddenly, turning his teal eyes on Hinata. She blinked in response for a moment, the sudden change of topic catching her off guard, before she was able to gather herself and reply.

"They're going well. There's only nine of them left now, but they all seem very promising."

Gaara nodded almost imperceptibly. "And the staff, they're treating you well?"

Hinata smiled a little. "They've all been very kind to me."

Gaara seemed to stew on her words for a moment, before he spoke again. "The hospital is old. It hasn't been renovated since the early days of my father being Kazekage. I want to put money into the hospital. You've been there a little over two months. What needs fixing?"

Hinata thought for a moment, a few things coming to mind immediately. "It needs more space. The staff are cramped. My office is tiny, and I share it with another woman. I know that I'm training more students, but it's desperately understaffed. Ren is at the reception, but he's a medic and should be helping patients, not receiving them. Opening up more programs like the one I'm in charge of would really help with that, and getting in proper receptionists so that the medics can do their job." She fell silent, a blush staining her cheeks, worried that she might have offended him somehow. When she looked at his face she was relieved to see that he looked thoughtful instead of insulted.

"I'll try and get Temari in charge of that. She enjoys construction and bettering the city."

From the kitchen, Hinata's clock chimed eleven, and Hinata chose that opportune moment to let out a yawn, pushing her empty bowl to the side.

"It's late," Gaara observed, standing up. "I need to make my rounds of the city. Good night." With that, he turned on his heel and left, giving a nod to both Hinata and Kankuro in farewell.

Hinata picked up hers and Kankuro's bowl and took them to the sink to be washed. Kankuro joined her side with a towel and started drying the utensils.

"He likes you, you know," Kankuro said bluntly, not taking his eyes away from the bowl in his hand.

Hinata jumped and flushed. "That's ridiculous," she said quietly, feeling alarmed. Gaara? Like her? How stupid.

"It's true," Kankuro insisted, dropping the spoon in his hand and turning to face her. "You should see the way he looks at you. It's like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. I've never seen Gaara look at _anyone_ the way he looks at you."

Hinata felt her stomach plunge through the floor, not sure whether she felt flattered or stunned by his revelation. Probably a mixture of both.

"That's silly," she argued between a yawn. "I doubt very much that Gaara-san would like someone like me."

Kankuro shot her an amused look. "Now _that's_ stupid. Pretty sure you've got just about every bachelor in Suna looking your way. I know I would, but you're not really my type. That blonde friend of yours however… what's her name?"

Hinata rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to jab him in the ribs. "Ino, and she has a boyfriend."

Kankuro chuckled. "Shame, real shame. Well, you've got my approval at any rate. Just be careful. Gaara's a bit… constipated when it comes to this stuff. I doubt that _he_ even knows he likes you. So be gentle with him."

Hinata, now finished with the dishes, turned to him with a frown on her face and a hand on her hip. "What makes you think that I'm interested in Gaara?"

Kankuro smirked, a proud, irritating smirk. "I see the way you look at him, too. Night Hinata, sleep tight."

And with that he marched himself to the couch, leaving Hinata to stand there stunned for a moment, before she shook herself and went to her room.

Kankuro's words kept her awake most of the night, and she refused to believe that there was anything kindling in the depths of her gut for the Kazekage as well.

* * *

Hinata shouldn't have expected Ko to arrive in any other fashion. But then, if he had, she would have suspected them of not being Ko.

It was mid-afternoon, and Hinata was busy outlining some of the more dangerous poisons to her class, describing their effects, how to recognise them and their antidotes. Her classroom was quiet, apart from her voice, and the occasional scratch of chalk on the board behind her.

And all of a sudden a dark haired man in his mid-twenties stumbled through the door. "Hinata-sama!" he puffed as loudly as he could, having evidently run straight from the gates to her room. "Are you hurt? Are you alright? Where is your guard?" He flew to her side and immediately started probing her, activating his Byakugan so as to more clearly find any problems. "You look tired, Hinata-sama. You haven't been sleeping well. You must have essence of lavender right away, I'm sure I packed some. What are you doing teaching these brats when you are in danger? You should be under constant guard! The Kazekage will hear about this, I can -"

"Ko, that is enough," Hinata said, kind but stern. "It's good to see you," she continued and gave him a hug. "This is my class, and I promise I don't need sleep." She was bemused to say the least. Ko had always been a whirlwind of anxiety regarding her safety, mostly because of the consequences he would face were she to come to any harm. When the Cloud Nin had tried to kidnap her as a child, her father had nearly had him flayed for his lapse in attention.

She could see that he was about to continue speaking, and so raced to stop him. "The hospital is well guarded, Ko. You don't need to worry about that, the Kazekage has spared no expense. Now I need you to stop making such a fuss, you're disrupting my class. There's a spare desk in the back. You can sit there if you'd like?"

Ko nodded and was about to retreat to his assigned chair when Kankuro bustled into the room, looking just as flustered as Ko had only moments prior. "I'm sorry… Hinata-chan," he huffed, wiping sweat from his brow. "Tried to… stop him… wouldn't… listen… pain in the… _ass_…"

Hinata had to supress the giggles that threatened to burst from her. "It's okay, Kankuro, thank you for your help, I've handled it." She indicated to where Ko had forlornly flopped himself into a seat and was staring out the window, his face sour.

Kankuro gave her a miniature salute before leaving, his posture sagging from exertion. Hinata turned back to her class, trying to settle them back down from the unexpected interruption. She stared dejectedly at Nise when everyone continued to talk, and the girl greatly surprised her.

"Hey nut-fucks!" she shouted, and everyone turned to stare at her. "Shut up would you? This'll be in the test."

Hinata smiled and nodded gratefully at the girl. _Thank you,_ she mouthed, then continued.

* * *

After she had sent everyone home for the day, she sat at her desk with her head held in her hands.

"It was exhausting watching you," said Ko who had sidled up beside her. "No wonder you look tired, Hinata-sama. How long do you work?"

"Twelve hours a day, six days a week."

Ko blanched at that, shocked. "That much? Why?"

"The content is supposed to be stretched out over eighteen months, I think," Hinata said, reciting something she'd seen scribbled on a note somewhere. "It's been compressed into a six month course because they need medics desperately."

Wary, but accepting of the reasons, Ko stood back next to her. "What are they paying you?"

Hinata chuckled at that. "Not enough. Come on, Ko," she said, standing. "Let's go home. It's good to see you again."

The walk home was quiet. Hinata was feeling too exhausted to talk and Ko was too tight strung at being out in the open and _vulnerable_ to make proper conversation. Hinata's mind was far from Hinari – the only welcome sight would be her bed, which she probably wouldn't be able to sleep in again as Kankuro's words would probably continue to haunt her.

_I see the way you look at him, too._ Now that was one of the most stupid sentences Hinata had ever heard. She didn't look at Gaara any different to how she looked at anyone else. Just because she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to spend more time with him, didn't mean that she looked at him differently. Just because she thought his eyes were bottomless and mysterious and his kanji scar was beautiful and sad and his arms were soft and strong… it didn't mean she looked at him any different to how she looked at anyone else!

They finally made it to the safety of her home and Ko placed his small bag of belongings on her couch. He started unpacking while Hinata began preparing dinner.

"Hinata-sama," Ko protested, seeing her pulling out food. "It is unnecessary for the future head of the Hyuuga Clan to do basic labours like cooking. Please, I'll -"

"Ko, I like cooking," Hinata interceded in a tone suggesting that he dare not protest. She may have been sweet and docile as a child, but she certainly knew how to get her way if she wanted it.

"At least let me help," he offered, and she nodded her acceptance.

"Thank you," she said, and made room for him next to her. He began preparing vegetables while Hinata chopped some chicken. "How has Konoha been?"

Ko shrugged. "Your father wasn't happy that you'd taken such a long mission at such short notice. You have responsibilities that you need to start learning and you can't do that here."

Hinata gave a half, almost sad smile. "I needed to get away. I just… I couldn't stay. I had to leave."

Ko nodded and didn't enquire. He had known Hinata since she was a child, and knew that if she wanted to tell him then she would. "Kakashi-sama is fitting into being Hokage nicely. Naruto has started his own Hokage training -" if he saw her wince at Naruto's name then he didn't show it "- and overall, Konoha is going well. The Uchiha brat has gone off travelling again. It's irritating everyone, and many in the Hyuuga are getting suspicious. He's unreliable, that one. I don't know why Naruto and Kakashi-sama trust him so much. Oh, Naruto and Hanabi are dating, did you know?"

Hinata froze, closing her eyes. "I do," she forced out, trying to sound normal.

"Yes, they've been together since you left, I believe. Your father approves. Hanabi isn't in the main branch, so of course she is allowed to be with whomever she chooses. And Uzumaki Naruto, the saviour of the village, he's as good a match as any."

Hinata forced herself to act normal. "D-does he seem happy?" she asked. She couldn't help herself. She had to know.

Ko nodded. "He does. And Hanabi's happier that anyone has ever seen her. They're good together."

Hinata fell silent after that, and listened as Ko continued to inform her of Konoha's latest news. Shikamaru and Temari were in regular contact, it seemed, and Ino and Sai had become much more public about their relationship. Overall, everything seemed to be going well, and Hinata was glad for it. She was happy for Naruto. She wanted him to be happy. And if Hanabi could give that to him, even if it was a lie, then she couldn't take that away from him. She would just need to move on with her life so as to do it.

Hopefully, she thought to herself, the knowledge that Naruto was happy without her would be the push she needed to move on from him once and for all.

* * *

**Just a little heads up, the next chapter might be late next week. It's my birthday and I'll be running around to see family and everything, so if I do update late please don't think it has anything to do with you, I just might not have access to a computer/internet.**

**Thank you so much for reading, and if you can I'd love you forever if you could leave a review :)**

**\- Sapphire xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so sorry this was late! I've had so much going on these last few days I've had no time. Thank you so much to the beautiful people who reviewed, you make this worthwhile :)**

**Watchingtherain2 – **thank you so much honey, it was lovely to hear from you again!  
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Gabster357 – **Thank you so much, I love writing her and I hope that their development is going well :3  
**Tamani  
CAR – **Thank you! I love Ko and Kankuro too, they don't get enough love in the series  
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HopeoftheForgotten**

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 11  
**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Two weeks passed, with no word of Hinari. It was as if she'd completely disappeared. The crew from Konoha, made up of three of the Hyuuga Clan's best trackers, had found absolutely nothing that would indicate where Hinari was hiding or who she was concealing herself as. She'd vanished like smoke on the wind, and after two weeks of fruitless searching everyone had begun to relax a little. Life went on.

Ko had, thankfully, begun to loosen his merciless grip on Hinata, and she was free to teach without his constant presence (_"Though I must be there to walk you to and from the hospital, Lady Hinata! I will not risk your safety when you're out in the open!"_). Despite the fact that he was indescribably overbearing, Hinata did appreciate his concern. It reminded her of home, somewhat.

It was a Sunday, and Hinata and Ko were sparring with each other. Hinata admitted to herself that it was nice to have another Hyuuga to practise with; with Hinari as an ever-present threat, Hinata wanted to keep her Byakugan as strong as possible.

Ko managed to get a jab in, and Hinata felt her shoulder go from numb to bruised within the space of a few moments. Her chakra became harder to mould and each movement seemed slower and required more energy. She soldiered on despite the hindrance and the sun beating down on her back. It was a good test of endurance, training out in the Suna sun. Hinata knew that her stamina had improved since her stay in the city of sand.

"Are you okay, Hinata-sama?" Ko asked, seeming almost apologetic for his attack. Hinata hit him in his moment of weakness, in the exact same spot he had hit her.

"Don't go easy on me, Ko-san," Hinata said, frustrated by his treatment of her. "Enemies won't."

This seemed to steel his resolve, and he fought back, matching her hit for hit.

Though Ko was a Jounin by Konoha standards, it brought Hinata satisfaction that she was able to hold her own against him, almost equally. She would definitely sit the Jounin exam the next time it came around.

"Hey, Hinata!" a familiar voice called out, resulting in a momentary lapse of concentration that saw a particularly painful jab to her stomach. She watched as Nise ran up behind her, and Ko ceased his attacks. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and turned to face the girl, a hand held to her stomach.

"Is everything alright, Nise?" Hinata asked, wincing at the pain that radiated through her gut.

"Yeah," Nise panted, coming up to stand in front of her. "Just wanted to know if you'd heard anything about the Temple? No one's told me anything. Did they find her? Hinari?"

Hinata shook her head. "Gaara-sama is supposed to bring me an update later on, but so far I haven't heard anything."

Nise looked away, an unreadable expression on her face. "So they didn't find anything about her? No evidence? Nothing?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nise. The only thing she left was a note for me, and it's so blotchy and written so strange that they can't trace the handwriting."

Nise rubbed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I hope they catch her soon. Who knows what else she'll do. You'll tell me if they find anything?"

"Of course."

It was at that moment that Nise noticed Ko. "Who's that?" she asked, her tone arrogant. "He was the one who interrupted class the other week, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Hinata conceded. "This is Ko, a friend of mine and a member of my family. He's been my guard for as long as I can remember."

Nise sneered. "He sounds like a babysitter. I thought you were better than that, Hinata."

Hinata could see Ko's face turn red from humiliation out of the corner of her eye, and rushed to intervene before he blew up at the young girl. "It's just a precaution. Ko's one of the best ninja that the Hyuuga have to offer. Hinari's already proven herself dangerous. He's just here in case something goes wrong."

Nise narrowed her eyes at him, and Hinata remembered how she felt about authority figures.

"Anyway," Hinata continued, trying to divert the conversation, "is there anything else you needed to talk about? We're in the middle of a sparring session at the moment."

Nise looked like she was about ready to say something incredibly insulting, but thought better of it. "No. See you in class." She walked away, and Hinata watched her go before getting back into her fighting stance.

"What an obnoxious little brat," Ko said, staring after the girl. "You let her treat you with such insolence? My Lady, she should be punished for speaking to you like that." He didn't move to get back into his stance, apparently too flabbergasted to do anything but stare agape at Nise's retreating back. "Her treatment of both you and I was appalling. Hinata-sama, I hope you won't let others treat you like this when you take your place as Head of the Hyuuga Clan."

Hinata shook her head at him. "She's a friend, Ko. That's just how she is. Now fight me. There's a move I've been thinking about, and I want your help to learn it."

Nise completely forgotten with the subject change, Ko perked up. "Is it an original or pre-existing?"

Hinata thought a moment. "I think it's original. I want to be able to concentrate my Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists into senbon-sized attacks that I can throw. I got the idea when I sparred with Gaara-sama, and I feel that it would be a useful jutsu to have for subtle attacks.

Ko's eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately began to devise how such a jutsu could be achieved.

* * *

It was late. Ko had gone to sleep an hour ago and Hinata lay restless in her bed waiting for sleep to claim her.

Somehow sleep seemed intent on abandoning her for the night.

There was a rap at the window, and Hinata sprang into action, _Hinari_ being the panicked thought that scattered through her mind like shards of glass, poisoning all ideals of reason and safety. She activated her Byakugan immediately, shifting into a defensive stance, and was just about to call out to Ko when –

She deactivated her Byakugan, exhaling a sigh of relief, and went to open her window.

"Gaara-sama, you scared me!" she admonished, keeping her voice a whisper. Rightfully, and from what little moonlight was afforded, she could see that he looked guilty.

"I apologise," he said, and she accepted it.

She relaxed her shoulders and leaned against her window sill, wrapping her arms about her middle so as to warm herself. The heat of the day all but fled when faced with night out in the desert, and Hinata could feel its icy breath begin to creep up on her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, keeping her voice low. Now that her heartbeat had regained its normal pace, Hinata couldn't help but feel a little flattered (and surprised – why was she always surprised?) by his visit.

He shrugged, looking nonchalant. Hinata could tell that it was a façade by the slight tremor in his shoulders. "It's a beautiful night," he said finally, his voice a poor excuse for disinterested. "I know I said to not go out after dark, but I was wondering if you would like to come out with me. Hinari has retreated for the moment, I figure that it's safe. And I doubt that if she did show herself that she'd be able to take us both on."

She watched as he risked glancing at her and, upon seeing the amused smile on her face, narrowed his eyes. "Never mind, forget it. I shouldn't put you at risk like -"

"Let me get my jacket," she interrupted, and disappeared for a few moments to retrieve the item. Gaara looked nervous, she thought. He seemed to ramble when he was nervous, which she found endearing. She didn't think that Gaara would be the kind of person that would ramble. Kankuro's words came back to her then, hitting her with full force.

"_He likes you, you know__. __It's true__. __You should see the way he looks at you. It's like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. I've never seen Gaara look at anyone the way he looks at you."_

Hinata forced the memory from her mind, a word sounding strangely like _Preposterous_ escaping from her mouth. She slipped her jacket on and, with one final look at her room (making sure Ko wasn't around), she jumped out of her window.

* * *

He took her out beyond the wall, past the sentries who snapped to exhausted attention in wake of their Kazekage, and out beyond into the nether. There was a light breeze out, causing the grains of sand to whisper along past their feet. Hinata could hear the occasional animal scurry away from their approaching footsteps, but in such complete darkness she couldn't see them without her Byakugan. Her only source of light was the silver cast by the sliver of moon and the stars that painted the landscape in a sterling sheen. Suna rose out of the sand behind them like an inky shadow against the backdrop of night.

In short, it was beautiful, Hinata thought. The silence of the desert was so absolute, she swore she could hear her heartbeat above the soft footfalls she and Gaara made.

"I don't think I ever thought I'd say this, but Suna is beautiful," Hinata said, deciding to express her thoughts. "Despite everything that's happening, I love staying here." She couldn't see Gaara's smile, but sensed that he was pleased.

"I'm glad you think so," he said, coming to a halt. "Suna is a strong city. I am proud to be its leader. My people are stubborn, intelligent, and are able to adapt to even the most foreign of climates."

"That's a good trait for people to have," Hinata praised. Gaara sat down, cross-legged and Hinata sat facing him. "I always thought that the desert was a strange place for people to live," she continued, looking back at Suna with curiosity. "Do you know how anyone came to be here?"

"Our legends say that we were descended from the Goddess Sunako." He looked bored by the statement, and she knew that he didn't really believe it.

Hinata's interest was piqued. "You have your own legends?" she asked, intrigued. Konoha, of course, had legends regarding its origin and its people, though they mostly centred around Madara and Hashirama. She wondered if they were similar at all, though she had certainly never heard of a Goddess named Sunako.

He nodded, sending her an unreadable expression. "Yes. Sunako was the Goddess of the Desert." When Hinata looked at him with rapt interest, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and continued. "She was said to be beautiful to behold, and many Gods vied for her attention. In the end, two brothers were the ones who had impressed her the most. Their names were Kaze, the God of Wind, and Fudo, the God of Fire. Kaze and Fudo fought for one hundred days and one hundred nights, until all the other Gods had had enough and decided to choose who Sunako should marry, as she loved both Gods equally and couldn't choose. It was decided that Kaze would marry her, as he was the eldest and complimented her element more wholly than Fudo. Sunako and Kaze were married, and lived happily together for many years. They had many children together.

"But everything started falling to pieces when Kaze showed a side of him Sunako had never seen before. He became cruel and violent towards his children. He would often yell at them, hit them, and disciplined them harshly for minor wrong-doings. In her fear for her children, Sunako turned to Fudo for help. Fudo still loved Sunako, and had recently lost his own wife in childbirth. Fudo agreed to help Sunako, and tried to talk sense into Kaze, but he would not be swayed. Sunako, afraid that leaving Kaze would incense him into further anger, relied on Fudo to be her support. All the other Gods turned a blind eye to what was happening, believing it to be none of their business, and it wasn't long until Sunako began to fall in love with Fudo. She fell pregnant to him, and out of fear for her life and her unborn child, planned to escape with Fudo and all of her children.

"Kaze heard of her plan, and was furious. He told Sunako that for her crimes, she would need to leave and never return, and that Fudo would have to commit suicide, as his honour had been destroyed in his betrayal. Sunako said that Kaze's honour had also been lost when he had become abusive towards his children, and that she would never have done what she did if he had stayed the good man that she had married. The three of them struck a deal. For her infidelity, Sunako would need to flee into exile with her unborn child. To regain his honour, Fudo would need to commit a ritual suicide, as he had brought too much shame onto himself to continue living. And to make up for his transgressions and regain his own honour, Kaze would have to raise his children and Fudo's son, and never lay another hand on any of them again, and treat them with love and kindness for the rest of his days.

"As agreed, Sunako exiled herself to the desert, where she was surrounded by her natural element. As she cried for all that she had lost, her tears became the oases that are dotted throughout the desert. Eventually she gave birth, and that child went on to found Sunagakure, which was named after the Goddess. It is said that Sunako's body became the sand dunes. The Kazekage is called such because it is their duty to love and protect the children of Suna, and if they break the vow that they have to their people then they must walk forever in shame and without honour. Fudo is honoured every year in Suna, with the Celebration of Fire."

Hinata sat there, feeling something akin to shock as Gaara reached the end of the tale. It was so tragic, she was certain that Konoha didn't have anything so sad in its arsenal

She was speechless, and had no idea how she should respond to the story. Eventually, she managed to say: "That was so sad. Thank you for telling it to me." Hinata could have hit herself – that was possibly one of the most stupid sentences she had ever uttered.

"Did you like it?" he asked, seeming all of a sudden very uncertain. "I'm not very good at telling it. Kankuro is much better than I am."

She finally managed a smile. "I loved it. You told it really well. I wish Konoha had stories like that. Ours are so boring in comparison."

Gaara chuckled, low and honest. "I doubt that. Not if you told them. You could make anything sound good."

Hinata flushed at the compliment, then, embarrassingly, let out a yawn. With a jolt, she found that she was absolutely _exhausted._ How long had she been out?

Gaara, noticing how tired she was, began to stand up. "We should get back, before your guard notices that you're missing." Hinata nodded in agreement and made to stand when Gaara just smiled a half smile and pushed her back down. "We don't need to walk," he said cryptically, before the sand underneath her began to shift. Before she knew it, she and Gaara were hovering on a small patch of sand at least twenty feet in the air. Hinata looked over the side and shrieked, scrambling back: she had always hated heights.

Gaara sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Don't be afraid," he whispered, his lips maybe just a little too close to her ear, and then the sand was moving gently back towards Suna. The sensation was something like being cradled, and it wasn't long before Hinata managed to relax and even found herself leaning in a bit closer to Gaara, for the night was still cold and he was warm. She started to fall asleep against him; her face buried itself into his shoulder and her hand rested easily on his thigh.

She wasn't sure, but she thought that maybe her turned a little so that his nose and lips were pressed against the crown of her head and his arm brought her in just a bit closer. But by then she had fallen asleep against him, with the wind kissing her cheeks and Gaara's lips in her hair.

He woke her gently, careful not to startle her, when they arrived back at her house. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes the same colour as the moon. Drowsily, she recognised that they were back, and began to extract herself from him, not finding in herself the will to go quickly.

He helped her down off his cloud of sand, holding her hand to keep her steady, and led her back towards her window, where he helped her climb inside. She didn't immediately retreat to her bed like he expected her to, and instead turned to face him, leaning against the sill.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft. He inclined his head in a gesture to mean _'you're welcome'_. "I had a really nice time."

He smiled a little again, and Hinata thought that she wouldn't mind if he did that more often. "As did I."

"Maybe we could go out again sometime?"

Tension that Gaara didn't even know he had released itself, and he was able to breathe a little easier. "I'd like that," he replied, not able to help the small smile that found its way onto his lips.

She made no move to leave, though he could tell that she was falling asleep where she stood.

"Can I try something?" she asked. He was immediately curious and a little suspicious, but nodded anyway. "Close your eyes," she said, her voice… nervous? He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, suspicion growing, but did as she said.

He waited for a moment, feeling her hesitation, her confusion, until something warm brushed itself against his lips, before withdrawing all too quickly. By the time he had opened his eyes Hinata had gone, and he was left reeling from shock with the knowledge that Hinata had just willingly kissed him.

* * *

**Ah! The kiss! I was very excited to post this up :3**

**Okay, two things: first, I'll be changing my pen name to Alia Rubrik on Sunday the 18****th**** of May. Just don't want anyone to be caught off guard and I've been SapphireRivulet for so long it'll be a bit of a change.**

**Second, I think that this story might have to go back to an update once a fortnight. Please don't think it has anything to do with any of you, you're all wonderful and I couldn't be more grateful. Uni is just getting really intense and I've got exams and assessments left, right, and centre that I really need to focus on. I'll get back to every week as soon as I can, I just can't right now.**

**Also, I'm 21 today! Omg I'm so ollllddddd D: Leave me a review as a little birthday present? ;)**

**\- Sapphire xoxo**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed. A lot of crappy stuff has happened recently, so your support is greatly appreciated. That being said, I really don't have the time to update every week anymore, I'm so incredibly sorry. So from now, updates will be every fortnight instead. I wish it didn't have to happen, but between uni and so many other things, I just can't do it anymore.**

**Witchy Bitch  
watchingtherain1  
Tamani  
WarFlower  
Guest – **That's such a huge compliment from both you and your friend, thank you so much! :)  
**KiunoNamu**

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 12**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

The Hyuuga Investigation Squad was preparing to go home. After three weeks of rigorous examinations, searching every square inch of the Wind Temple, probing the bodies and the small note, they, along with the Suna team, had found nothing. Hinata could see on Temari's face her frustration as she stood with the three Hyuuga to wish them farewell. A messenger hawk had been released that morning informing Konoha of the Team's departure.

"Thank you for your help," said Hinata, stepping forward to kiss all three on the cheek in a formal farewell as she had been taught to do. "Hinari hasn't been seen in three weeks. She would have done something by now if she had planned on it. My father will be proud of your efforts on behalf of the Hyuuga." Her words felt unnecessarily extravagant as they left her tongue, but they were called for as it was a formal event. She was seeing off her kin after they had done her a service, and as she was the next Head of the Clan it was her job to play her part. "I thank you for your help."

All three bowed, first to her, then to Temari, who was representing Gaara and Suna. "It was our pleasure to help you, Hinata-sama, my Lady Temari," said the eldest, a man named Hoheto. The other two, named Iroha and Tokuma expressed their concurrence. "It is with great regret that we must leave, but if Hinari should show herself again do not hesitate to call on us. We are at your disposal."

Hinata bowed to him to hide her eye-rolling, but was sure Tokuma had seen it, as he was fighting to supress laughter when she rose. As the youngest, Tokuma wasn't as use to the formal language used in such situations. Hinata was, as she had had to sit in on many meetings her father had hosted. She was certain that that would be one of the first things to go once she became the Head of the Hyuuga Clan.

Nothing else was said between any of them, and the three men raced out of Suna's walls and into the hot tundra beyond. It was early morning, the most appropriate time for them to leave, and they would hopefully be out of the desert come nightfall. Few people were in the streets to see the party leave, and those that were paid them little heed. Hinata began her walk back next to Temari, who had thankfully slowed her strides to match Hinata's.

"I'm so pissed that we didn't find anything," Temari seethed, striking up conversation. "You'd think she would have left _something_, right? We didn't find a single thing. Not even a hair. I can't believe it."

Hinata wasn't sure what to say in response. She was in complete concurrence with Temari: the fact that not only had the Hyuuga elite tracking squad not found a single trace of Hinari, but neither had Suna's team, had her completely baffled. Who was Hinari? Where was she? And how had she managed to not leave a single trace in amongst all of the damage that she had made? She was a prodigy of such measure that the Hyuuga may have never seen anything like her. So far she had exceeded any standards set by both Neji and Hanabi, and that fact terrified her.

"And where has she been the last three weeks anyway?" Temari continued, venting her frustrations. "I mean, one minute she was running riot, and now she's completely disappeared. I can't believe we haven't caught her. It's ridiculous."

"I don't know what I can do to help," offered Hinata, not sure what to say to the older blonde.

"Sit around and look pretty?" Temari said sarcastically. "Maybe dress you in a giant bullseye and have _Hey Hinari, Kill Me!_ written in fire above your head? I don't know. She seems to be after you, so maybe if we display you like a piece of defenceless meat she'll come running."

Hinata shot Temari a strange look, unsure how to respond. "I don't know if I'd feel comfortable dressed in a bullseye, Temari-san," she said, making an attempt at a joke. Miraculously, Temari burst into rambunctious laughter and slapped Hinata on the back in her mirth. Hinata giggled a little, proud of her joke. She wasn't generally good at making them.

"That was such a bad joke, Hinata," Temari said, wiping a tear from her eye. "So bad. Oh Kami." Calming down and sobering a little, she decided to change topics. "Anyway, I need to tell you, work on the hospital will be starting this week. I don't know what you said to Gaara, but he listened to you when he wouldn't anyway else. So thanks for that. The hospital's needed renovating for years."

Hinata nodded her head. "You're welcome?" she said, phrasing it as more of a question.

"It's a compliment, Hinata. Gaara's one of the most stubborn men I know. You've gotta be pretty special to change his mind on anything."

Hinata flushed and hid her face a little, trying not to think about the sort-of kiss she'd shared with him. She didn't know what had possessed her to do it. Somehow it had felt right, necessary almost. The turning of a new leaf for them both, and whether it was with each other or not was yet to be seen, but she certainly didn't regret the act. It was an important moment for her, and maybe it was important for him too. She had yet to see him again after the kiss. Work had kept him locked away, but it gave her good time to think about what had happened. She had surmised that she was glad it had happened, and wouldn't protest if it were to happen again. That was the only conclusion she had reached.

The walk back was otherwise quiet. Temari and her parted soon afterwards at diverging paths, and within minutes Hinata was closing the door behind her. Ko was standing impatiently on the other side, tapping his foot and staring at her with narrowed eyes.

"You were supposed to be home three minutes ago, Hinata-sama," he said, annoyance in his tone. Hinata raised her eyebrows at him, then walked around him, shaking her head. Was he really going to chastise her as if she were a small child?

"The goodbyes took a little longer than expected, Ko. Stop being so paranoid."

Ko followed Hinata into the kitchen, a sullen and silently fuming cloud that Hinata found incredibly irritating. "What is it?" she eventually asked, unable to take any more of his petulance. "There's something on your mind, so you may as well tell me what it is."

Ko _hmph_ed at her, sticking his nose in the air. "It's nothing, Lady Hinata. I'm fine."

Hinata felt that he would've looked less ridiculous if he stamped his foot and cried. "Okay, well, if that's how you feel, then -"

"I've just been thinking that you've been spending an unnecessary amount of time alone with the Kazekage," Ko said, trying and failing to sound uninterested. Hinata froze, suddenly wary. He couldn't have known about the previous night, could he? Surely not. But if he did… she would be in big trouble if he reported it to her father. Somehow she doubted that her father would approve of her escapades with a once sociopathic, psychotic murderer who lived in another country and had actively helped attempt to destroy Konoha, even if he was now the Kazekage of Suna and had worked tirelessly to mend the relationship between not only Suna and Konoha, but every other village in the world. She quickly did her best to appear busy and nonplussed by his comment.

"I don't think it's any of your business who I spend time with, Ko," Hinata said dismissively. "I'm an adult. Gaara-sama and I are just friends."

Ko seemed intent on pushing the issue, however, something that irritated Hinata. "I don't like the way he looks at you. When we pass him on the street, when he stops to say hello to you, I don't like it. And I know you went out with him the other night, Hinata-sama."

Hinata felt the blood drain from her face.

"Your father would disapprove. As the future Head of the Hyuuga Clan, it is irresponsible of you to even attempt to pursue anything even slightly romantic with someone who is not a part of our Clan. You know the laws. You must keep our bloodline pure, as it is your responsibility to foster the next generation of Hyuuga leaders. And as your father isn't here, it is my duty to -"

"Duty to what, Ko?" Hinata demanded, her patience finally snapping. "To remind me that my duty as the next Hyuuga Leader isn't to keep the Clan safe, or provide for them, or fight for them, but to be their brood mare? What if I don't want to get married? What if I don't want children? My ability to lead the Clan shouldn't be centred on my ability to bare children! I am not the Clan, Ko! I love my family, I would do anything for them, but I am not solely my family. I am my own person, and until it is time for me to take over as Head of the Hyuuga I should be free to pursue whatever I want with whomever I want!" She was breathing heavily following her outburst, and shot a dangerous glare at Ko. "Now if you don't mind, I need to go to class." She stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

The day was normal. Her class had finally gotten the hang of using chakra to heal for extended periods of time, and the day was dedicated to teaching them how to control the chakra flow once they started using it on a patient. It was a delicate process, as the amount of chakra needed depended on a person's injuries. A medic needed to learn to first scope out the amount of damage that a shinobi had sustained before they began the healing process. Otherwise the point of healing them would be almost pointless.

Before she knew it, it was seven o' clock, and time for everyone to go home. Hinata cleared her supplies away and turned to leave. However her path was blocked by the burly shape of Kankuro.

"Hey Hinata, how's the teaching going?" he asked brightly. "Ko mentioned that you guys had had a fight, so I'm here to take you home."

Hinata closed her eyes, still annoyed at the arrangement. Did everyone truly think her incapable of taking care of herself? It was incredibly frustrating. But she plastered a smile on her face instead of a scowl and thanked him.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Kankuro said, following her out the door with his hands behind his head. "This whole thing must be so annoying for you, being babysat all the time. Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd let you go wherever you damn well please. I think you can handle yourself."

Hinata finally allowed herself to relax, grateful for his encouragement. "Thank you, Kankuro-san," she said, elated by his words. "I think you're the only one who thinks that."

"Psht, nah, I don't," Kankuro countered. "I know Gaara hates having to put you under guard. You should hear how he prattles on about it. He's like, he knows that he doesn't have a choice, because if he didn't make sure you were guarded all the time and something happened to you, it could mean war for Suna. And like, he just can't risk everyone like that. But he knows you can take care of yourself, and reckons that you think he's a real little shit for treating you like a little kid. Temari's annoyed by it too, to be honest. She's like, _Oh, because Hinata's a woman she can't take care of herself!_ You should've heard the fight those two had when she said that. The whole Tower heard them go at it, it was insane."

Hinata felt a small bubble of happiness lodge itself in her gut at those words. Though she had known it from the start, it was nice to have it confirmed that she was only guarded out of precaution, not lack of faith in her abilities.

"Anyway, speaking of arguments, what were you and Ko fighting about, huh? He seemed really pissed when I saw him."

Hinata shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Stupid stuff."

Kankuro shot her a look from the corner of his eye and Hinata sighed. "He just… he keeps treating me like such a baby. Like I can't take care of myself. He doesn't like that I spend time with Gaara-sama, which is so frustrating. I can spend time with whoever I want. It's not up to him to decide."

"Is this because he doesn't like Gaara or because he doesn't like that Gaara likes you?"

Hinata choked on her spit and had to stop for a minute. "I… I don't think… why would you say that? That's…. that's so…" she rambled, trying to get out a coherent thought.

"Hinata, come on, we've had this talk. Besides, he came home the other night and holy shit, you should've seen the look on his face. It was hilarious! Oh yeah, he's got it for you. Bad." Hinata imagined hitting the smug smirk right off his face, and then chastised herself for the image. How could she think such rude thoughts? "Tell you what," Kankuro continued, "I know you're in denial and all that -"

"I'm _not -_"

"Ah, let me finish." Kankuro turned probing eyes on her. "I know you're in denial, that's okay, but if Ko is so against this then we're going to have to be really sneaky about it. So I'm going to come over later tonight and distract him. You go to bed and I'll get Gaara to come by and take you out. Deal?"

Hinata stared at him, dumbstruck.

"Awesome. See you then!"

They had finally arrived at her little house, and Hinata was left to gape at his retreating back. It took her a few minutes to snap out of her shock, but she was finally able to pull herself together and go inside, where an impatient Ko was waiting for her.

"Class was running late, Ko. Don't chastise me."

He didn't say a word as he followed her into the house.

Swallowing the small bubble of pride that had begun to grow, she took a deep breath and said: "I'm sorry from what I said this morning. I know that my duty lies with my Clan, and I'll be more thoughtful of that in the future."

He drew level with her as she put her belongings onto her bed and embraced her in a brief hug. "Your father would be so proud of you, Hinata-sama," he said, a smile on his face.

Somehow, though her father's approval was one of the few things she'd ever craved, the statement didn't make her feel any better.

* * *

True to his word, Kankuro came around later that night with the sole intention of distracting Ko.

"Ko, buddy, how are you?" he asked enthusiastically and swung his arm around an uncomfortable Ko's shoulder.

"I'm not your buddy," said Ko, trying (to no avail) to squirm out of Kankuro's grasp. "Why are you here?"

Kankuro laughed it off and forced a resisting Ko to sit on the couch, an arm restricting any attempts Ko might make to flee. "Psht, don't be like that Ko, of course we are! We're mates! Bonded in the brotherhood of guarding Hinata-chan.

Hinata swallowed back a laugh, watching as the scene unfolded before her. Kankuro was just a little _too_ enthusiastic about distracting Ko.

"She's a right handful, isn't she? Making decisions for herself, _doing_ stuff, I mean, I could barely keep a track of her between home and work. Was she always this way?"

Ko let out a resigned huff, sensing nothing wrong with Kankuro's exuberance, and finally gave in. "When she was younger she was much more willing to take my advice," he said sullenly. "Now she's become rebellious. I blame this damned mission of hers. She was never like this before she left Konoha."

Hinata could sense that Kankuro was about to loudly start defending his home, and decided to escape while Ko was distracted. She ran to her bedroom and eased open the window, careful to make sure that it didn't make a noise. She used her Byakugan, and to her delight, Ko was still squished between the end of the couch and Kankuro's large form. And through her Byakugan, she was also able to see Gaara standing by her window, an array of emotions on his face. Many she couldn't quite read, as they would come and go before she could decipher them, but a few stood out. Fear, confusion, apprehension, worry, not the sort of emotions she was hoping to see at any rate. Feeling a bit timid now, she climbed out of her window and came face-to-face with Gaara.

"So Kankuro forced you into his plan too?" he said in way of greeting.

"He's very persuasive," Hinata replied, looking at his now blank face.

"Just stubborn," said Gaara, and he took off at a brisk walk. Hinata followed, curiosity and the barest hint of worry nibbled at her. He was acting very strangely, and she couldn't understand why.

"Is something wrong?" she eventually worked up the nerve to ask when they'd gone a fair distance. "Is it Hinari?" Fear settled like a viper in her gut, ready to strike at any moment. Had Hinari struck again?

He shook his head. "No."

She could tell that something was off, but knew he wouldn't say anything until he felt ready. She resigned herself to following him, wherever he decided to lead her.

As it turned out, he didn't take her much further. They reached the inner wall and climbed to the top, where Hinata sat and Gaara stood, staring out into the vast desert beyond. There was silence for a moment, as he was evidently agitated, and possibly trying to form his thoughts into words. Hinata used the moment to get a good look at him, fearing whatever had him in such a state.

At length, he spoke. "I… I need to know something, Hinata," he finally said, still not facing her.

"Of course," she said, staring at him with puzzled eyes.

He hesitated a moment longer, whatever he was thinking about evidently distressing him. "Why… why did you kiss me? The other night, why? I don't… I don't understand why. You love Naruto. Everyone knows you're in love with Naruto. Why are you here? Why would you kiss me? I can't… I don't understand." His eyes were closed, as if in pain, and his hands were making their way into his hair. "Why would you kiss me when you love him? Why would you come here when he's in Konoha? Why, Hinata?" His voice was in agony. He'd been thinking about it for far too long, bottled up inside him, tearing him apart. Hinata felt her stomach drop, realising far too late that what she had done had been cruel.

Gaara was fragile, she knew. Love had destroyed him in the past. It had turned him into a monster, in every literal sense of the word. Hinata knew the story. Naruto had told the Rookie Nine what had happened to him some time after Gaara's abduction by the Akatsuki. She could only imagine what her unprecedented kiss had done to him. Especially when he so strongly believed that she still loved Naruto.

"I don't love him anymore," Hinata said quietly and honestly, prompting Gaara to open his eyes and look at her. "It's why I came here. To get over him."

He looked confused. "Why? Why would you?"

She swallowed heavily, the memory of Hanabi's betrayal still painful. "My… my sister decided to get back at me for being Head of the Clan. I don't know what prompted it. She was on a mission with him for a month, and we'd asked her to help Naruto realise that I loved him. And instead of helping, she decided to date him herself. What she did was so hurtful, so cruel, I left Konoha the next day to come here. I couldn't stay there anymore. What Hanabi did… it wasn't just cruel. It made me realise that Naruto would never and could never return my feelings. I came here to put distance between us so that I could get over him. I don't love him anymore. Being here in Suna, having the responsibilities of the hospital, after everything with Hinari, being here with you, I've let him go. There was never a future for Naruto and I. I can see that now."

He looked at her, unblinking. He made no move towards her, his posture still stiff.

"Kissing you the other night… it felt _right_," she continued. "It felt like the right thing to do. I can't tell you why. I don't really know why. It just felt necessary. I wanted to kiss you, I guess." She shrugged, a light smile on her face.

He looked away for a moment, a scowl on his face. "How could you want to? I was a monster once, remember? I nearly destroyed Konoha."

"People change," she said, her voice soft. "You were a monster once. You had a monster inside you. But you're not a monster anymore."

He looked at her again, his eyes narrowed. "I was a monster once, because I cared for someone and they hurt me so bad I felt I had no other choice. I wasn't born a monster, I was made one."

"Do you think I'll hurt you?" Hinata asked, determination in her tone.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I… I don't know. I _don't know, _Hinata. This is dangerous. _I'm_ dangerous."

"You _were_ dangerous, a long time ago. You're not your past, Gaara. I can't hurt you if you don't let me. I don't want to hurt you. I have no intention of hurting you. You're letting your fears get ahead of you."

His shoulders slumped and he looked away from her, a pained expression in his eyes. "I don't… I don't know how I feel about you," he said at length, his words hesitant. "It's foreign. I don't understand it. It's not what I feel for my siblings. It's not what I feel for my village, or my people, or my friends. I care for you, I can recognise that. But beyond that… I don't know. I don't understand."

He seemed so lost it was all Hinata could do to not take him into her arms and hold him. However, she felt that that would only complicate the situation, and he was confused enough as it was.

She felt that it was time for her to go home. "When you figure it out, tell me, okay? If you need help, ask."

He nodded at her, a curt nod done out of restraint.

"I need to go."

"I know."

"I'll see you soon?"

He nodded once again, and she left. She didn't need to look back to know that his eyes followed her through the streets.

* * *

A week passed with little to nothing exciting happening. Temari and her team had begun renovating the hospital, and the noise made it difficult for Hinata to teach her class, which became a problem as the end of month exam grew nearer and her class needed to revise the material. But all was normal. She would occasionally see Gaara on the streets, and he would nod to her in greeting, and she would smile at him, and they kept their distance from each other. Hinata felt that he needed space to sort out how he felt for her, and if she was being honest with herself, she needed that space too. More than ever, when she thought of someone she could share her life with, Gaara's face trumped all the others. Naruto was no longer even an option.

There was no reason to suspect that anything was wrong or about to happen until she came home one Wednesday afternoon, exhausted and about ready to collapse. She found Ko sitting at the dining table, his head in his hands and a small letter resting on the table. Hinata asked him what was wrong, but he merely indicated to the paper and she picked it up to read it.

Her blood turned to ice at the words.

_Formal Missing Nin Report filed for:_

_Hyuuga Hoheto_

_Hyuuga Iroha_

_Hyuuga Tokuma_

_Officially M.I.A. Have not returned to Konoha. Suspected dead. Hyuuga Hinari has officially been added to Konoha's Bingo Book._

_\- Hyuuga Hiashi._

* * *

**What did y'all think? Reviews are always welcome, especially right now. I won't say what, but a lot of shitty stuff has happened recently, and your support is really needed right now.**

**Thank you so much for reading, and please leave a review.**

**Many thanks, Alia xoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so sorry that this is late! Moving house = no internet for Alia :/ If it makes you feel better I have a major 2500 word essay due tomorrow that I haven't started yet to give this to you guys. Thank you so much to those who reviewed, it's always appreciated.**

**watchingtherain1  
Witchy Bitch  
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Lola – **Thank you, I generally struggle with writing funny things, so I'm glad you enjoyed it!**  
Mona133  
Hikari To Seimei  
lilacblossom**

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 14**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Fear gnawed in her gut like a rat, and wherever Hinata went she saw Hinari. She was in the shadows in the doorways, she was in the girl with dark hair, or the boy with pale skin. Paranoia crept through her blood like a disease, and it was all Hinata could do to sleep at night.

Her only reprieve was the upcoming exam that Friday. Hinata had been preparing it the whole week, readying the mannequins which her class would be using again. Again they would all be infected with some form of virus or poison, but it would be more complex and the student would have less time to figure it out and concoct and administer the antidote. The second part to their exam would require further use of the mannequins, this time each would have some form of injury that the student would need to heal using their chakra. There would be a time limit, and certain failure for any student who happened to go over their allocated time.

Making the exam took her mind off of Hinari, and as it was the best distraction available she delved into it, dedicating all her free time to it. It left her exhausted, with aching joints and perpetual dark eyes, but she was glad for it. If she was bone tired she couldn't focus on Hinari, and that was what was important.

The day of the exam dawned, with golden sunlight falling onto Hinata's sleeping face. She woke up, startled, and lifted her head away from the final mannequin which had become her makeshift pillow. She yawned, stretched, her back popping deliciously a few times, before she gathered her equipment and enlisted Ko's help in carrying all nine mannequins to the hospital.

Builders were already at work, a few of them ninjas and infusing chakra into the building to keep it steady, others chiselling, sawing, hammering, slabbing, making concrete, and calling out orders to the other workers. The outside was crawling with men and women, all doing their part to construct the hospital. At the head of it all was Temari, a folder in her arms and Baki next to her, chatting steadily about what Hinata could presume was the progress made on the hospital. Hinata waved as she passed, and Temari offered her a nod in greeting, the action resembling Gaara's. Hinata walked into the hospital, getting thoughts of the red headed Kazekage out of her mind so as to prepare for the exam.

* * *

At midday, her students were released. Nise seemed to be the only one confident in how she went, and Hinata didn't doubt that she would pass with flying colours.

Gathering a few of the mannequins, Hinata decided that she may as well start marking them, and took them back to her office –

\- and nearly had heart failure upon seeing a young girl with long black hair sitting at her desk. She nearly screamed, petrified that Hinari had come for her. Her heartbeat jumped, adrenaline coursed through her, her eyes darted for the nearest weapon.

"Hello Hinata," said Mami, Hinata's office companion. Hinata's eyes wildly swung towards the woman, wanting to tell her to run, to flee, that Hinari would kill them all. She had only seen Mami a few times, she had no special bond with the woman, but all the same she wouldn't allow her death to be on her hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you must need your seat. I apologise, my daughter needed a place to sit and as your seat was available, I told her she could have it for a while."

Hinata went immediately from terror, to shock, to complete exhaustion.

"Your… daughter?" she asked, her knees feeling weak. "She doesn't look anything like you."

It was certainly not something Hinata would say under any other circumstance, but it was nevertheless true. Mami was middle-aged, with a very curvy body, dark skin and deep red hair. From what Hinata could see of the girl's back, she was small, willowy, with translucent skin and black hair.

"Well… yes," Mami said, as if choosing her words carefully. "My husband and I adopted her a few years ago. Hirari, say hello to Hinata, she works here at the hospital."

Somehow Hinata's adrenaline kicked in again, just at the girl's name. _Hirari._ Change the first _R_ and she would have _Hinari_. The girl turned around, and something Hinata didn't notice originally was that she had a piece of material over her eyes.

"Hirari went blind a few years ago, just before she came into our care," said Mami sadly. "The war, you see."

Hinata was beginning to doubt very much that the girl was blind. She probably had the blindfold so as to keep her Byakugan hidden.

"It's nice to meet you, Hinata-san," said Hirari in a sweet, child-like voice. She held out her hand about a foot to the left of where Hinata was standing. _She's good,_ Hinata thought, playing along and grasping the girl's hand just a little too tight.

"How old are you, Hirari?" Hinata asked, trying to keep her voice innocent.

She smiled sweetly. "I just turned fourteen."

Hinata had to force herself to not glare at her. "Really? And you were adopted?"

Hirari nodded, looking at her feet. "My parents died soon after I was born. They were ninja and were sent on a mission. They never came home."

Hinata scrutinised her closely. "So you grew up in the Wind Temple?"

Hirari nodded, angling her face back towards Hinata. "Did you know anyone there called Hinari?"

The girl seemed to ponder the question for a moment. "No, I don't think so. There were a lot of children there. I didn't have that many friends."

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the girl, suspicion niggling away at her. "I need to go," she said eventually, and without properly saying goodbye she nearly fled from the room and towards the front desk where Ren stood, directing patients.

"Ren-san," Hinata said, mannequins still held in her arms.

"One moment, Hinata-san," said Ren, turning back to the elderly couple that stood before him. Hinata waited impatiently, looking between them. Could the couple speak any slower? She was about to walk away when they finally retreated to sit at some free chairs.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, his usual smile radiant.

"The records in the hospital," Hinata began, speaking a little too fast. "Would they have information on anyone who was orphaned? A name, age, anything like that?"

Ren thought for a minute, before shrugging his shoulders. "Could do. I don't see why not. Especially if the child was orphaned at birth. Go down and check, no harm in that."

Hinata nodded and ran home, intending to dump the mannequins then go find Nise. The girl knew about the situation already, and Hinata felt she could trust her to help in finding Hinari. She imagined that Nise would certainly want to help after what Hinari did to the Monks.

* * *

As it turned out, Nise was at the market, buying a handful of flowers.

Refusing to allow herself to be distracted, Hinata ignored them and persevered in her query. "Nise, I need your help."

Nise indicated that she should continue before she began to walk away. "What?"

"I… I have an idea. A way that we could track down Hinari. Underneath the hospital is a floor with all the birth and death records. I thought that there might also be records down there with the names of any child who was orphaned and around the same age as Hinari. Surely someone must remember her. If we can find them and they can give us information on her it might make it easier to track her down."

Nise listened intently, keeping her eyes on the new flowers. "That's not a bad idea," she said at length. "Don't see what that has to do with me, though."

Hinata let out a sigh. "I was wondering if you would help me with the names. It'll be quicker with two people doing this and I trust you. Can you help me?"

Nise had the smallest smile on her lips, and stopped in the street. "'Course. I want to get that bitch back for what she did to the Monks. I'll take these home and meet you at the hospital, yeah?"

Hinata smiled in relief and almost hugged the girl. "Thank you," she said, then took off towards the hospital, hoping to get a head start on the task before her.

* * *

Once Hinata reached the floor that contained all of the records, she was delighted when the old man at the desk informed her that they did indeed have information regarding children who had been orphaned.

"We don't have much," he called out to her as he walked slowly into the shelves. "Only names and dates of birth. Will that be enough?"

"That's more than enough, thank you so much," Hinata replied, bouncing on the heels of her feet. "Do you need help with anything? Carrying any files?"

"No, no," his gnarly voice said, bouncing off the walls and shelves. "You just stay right there. I've got it."

All up, it took him around a half hour to come back, staggering underneath the weight of dozens of files. Nise had arrived a few minutes prior, and stood there more impatiently than Hinata, arms folded over her chest, occasionally raising her fists to rub at her eyes, and foot beating an irritated rhythm.

"Here you go, miss," he heaved, dumping the files on the end of the table. "I think that's all of them. Take as long as you need."

Hinata bowed to him then took half of the pile, Nise carrying the other half. They took the files up to Hinata's classroom, dumping them on desks and then seating themselves.

"Okay," Hinata said, wiping the sweat off her brow. "Hinari is around fourteen, so we should probably only focus on the kids who would now be around twelve to seventeen. Anyone else can go in a pile on this desk." She patted a desk on her left and Nise nodded. "Anyone who does fit the age criteria can go on this desk." She patted a desk on her right. "And keep an eye out for a girl called Hirari. I think she could be Hinari."

Nise raised her eyebrows. "What makes you think that?"

Hinata shot her an odd look. "I met her today. She's my co-worker's adopted daughter. She looks like Hinari, she's the right age, and she wears a blindfold. She could be blind, but she could also be hiding her Byakugan. I don't know. I need to find out. Let me know if you find her file."

Nise nodded again, an amused smile on her face. It irritated Hinata.

"What, Nise?"

She merely shook her head. "Nothing. Just you being all authoritative. You're getting better at it. It suits you."

Hinata flushed, pleased with the compliment. "Thanks," she said, then sat down and got to work.

* * *

They were an hour into the work, sifting through file upon file, looking for names and ages of kids. So far their pile consisted of seven children: four girls and three boys.

"You know," said Nise suddenly, "You never even asked me if I know anyone who could help. I _did_ grow up with these kids."

Hinata nearly slammed her head onto the desk. "You could've suggested that earlier," she said, trying to keep the irritation out of her tone. "That would've saved us so much time."

Nise shrugged. "Doesn't matter anyway. I only know two of the people we've found, and these files give us their current address, so I wouldn't have been much help anyway."

Incensed, Hinata huffed and turned back to the file in her hand. The person it showed was now twenty-one, so Hinata threw it in the discarded pile.

"What about your file?" Hinata asked Nise, looking up at the girl. She shrugged and rubbed her eyes.

"What about it?"

"Is it in here?"

She didn't look up from the file as she answered. "Yeah, I passed it a while back. It's in the pile. Not very interesting."

Curiosity welled in Hinata, and she was just about to reach out to look in it when she saw how many files she still had left. Time enough later, she decided.

She continued for another few minutes before boredom got the best of her and she decided to voice a question that had been nibbling at her.

"I don't quite understand how the system of keeping the orphans at the Wind Temple worked. Everyone I've talked to keeps saying that they barely knew anyone there even though they would have grown up with them."

Nise was silent a minute, evidently in thought. Eventually, she said: "The Monks kept us all quite isolated. We were all kept in dorms of four people, and they were pretty much our only contact with anyone other than the Monks. We would have one Monk who would be like our overseer, and other Monks who would train us, and occasionally we would see other kids from other dorms, but that was it. It was easier for them to keep us under control that way."

Hinata shot Nise a baffled look. "That… that sounds like abuse, Nise," she said, almost horrified.

Nise shrugged. "It had its perks. If someone got sick, only kids in that dorm would get it. If one kid screwed around then it was easy to figure out who, and only that dorm would get punished. We grew up that way, so it never really seemed odd to us."

Though concerned, Hinata decided not to push the issue. If it worked, then who was she to criticise?

It took them a further hour and a half to finish looking through all the files, and in the end there were fifteen kids that fit the age requirement: eight girls and seven boys, including Nise. Hinata wrote down their names, ages, and current addresses before she began to clean up. A few of them still lived in the orphanage, but most had either been adopted or found a place of their own. It gave Hinata relief knowing that the answers regarding the mystery of Hinari were finally so close.

"I'll tell Kazekage-sama what we've found," Hinata said, stacking the now neat files. "Hopefully we can get a team together and question everyone tomorrow."

"Can I join?" Nise asked, rounding up a few stray files.

"Of course."

They took the files back down to the records room before parting ways.

"I'm gonna go sleep, I think," said Nise, yawning. "My eyes are killing me." She walked away in the opposite direction and Hinata headed straight for the Kazekage Tower, intent on telling Gaara what she had found.

But in the end she never even made it, as he was on his way to the hospital when she found him.

"Are you okay?" he asked when she made a startled squeak as she nearly ran into him. "What's that?" He looked at the sheet of paper grasped tightly in her hand with curiosity, and Hinata beamed, proud of her work.

"These are the names of all the orphaned children within Hinari's age bracket," she said, handing him the sheet of paper. His eyes went wide as he read it, letting her information sink in. "Surely one of them must know something about her. If we can get any information from any of them, then maybe we can find her."

She wasn't expecting the crushing embrace that Gaara enveloped her in, and it took her a moment to realise what was happening, by which stage she had flushed beet red.

"Hinata, that's _genius_," Gaara praised, releasing her maybe a little too quickly and looking back at the note. Hinata got the feeling that he was purposely avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment. "I'll assemble a team of investigators immediately and start looking for these kids at first light."

"Nise and I want to be part of the team," Hinata said, making sure he knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Of course, how could you not be?"

She smiled at him, glad that he didn't protest. It was certainly a boost to her confidence, if nothing else. Deciding that she would go home and begin marking the test, she made to turn away before his voice stopped her.

"Hinata," he said, tucking the sheet of paper into his robe.

"Hmm?" She was frozen in a half turn, face angled back at him over her shoulder.

"Do you remember how I mentioned the Celebration of Fire the other night when we were out?"

"Yes," she said, her curiosity sparked, remembering the legend fondly.

"Suna is throwing the celebration next Saturday night."

Hinata blinked at him, the news new to her. "That sounds like it'll be fun," she said, recovering. "I can't wait to see it."

"I was wondering if you would go with me?"

He was trying hard to sound confident, but Hinata could detect a waver of unease in his voice. Was he nervous about asking her? He needn't be, Hinata thought. She couldn't think of anyone she would rather spend the night with.

"I… I would like that," she said, fighting the blush off her cheeks.

She saw his shoulders relax ever so slightly, and realised he had been expecting her to decline.

"I'll come and get you before it starts," he said, smiling, then strode away towards the hospital, robes whispering about his heels across the sand. Hinata walked home slowly, unable to get the bubble of euphoria out of her chest and the smile off her lips.

* * *

Hinata's sleep was restless that night. She woke numerous times, unable to shake the feeling that she was supposed to be outside, supposed to be _doing_ something. She had pinned the sensation on her nerves for the following morning, when they would interview the fifteen orphans they'd found.

She was awake and dressed before daybreak, and was unable to stomach any food. She paced in her room, hoping to work off her feeling of agitation. Her fingers itched, wanting to reach for some form of weapon. She kept her hands in her pockets.

When at last a knock sounded at her door, she breathed out a sigh of relief and walked with as much calmness as she could muster.

The knocking didn't stop.

It was frenzied, loud, disjointed. Nise's voice shrieked from the other side of the door. "Hinata! Hinata, open the door! Kami, Gods, open the door, open the door!"

She ran, nearly wrenching the door off its hinges, fear threatening to overwhelm her. What was wrong? Nise wasn't the sort of person to panic, yet she sounded hysteric.

The door flung open before her, and Nise stood there, hunched, hands held before her and blood oozing from multiple slices on her body. She was shaking so bad her teeth were chattering, and when she raised her eyes to meet Hinata's they were glazed with tears.

"Sh-sh-sh-she was there," she whispered. "Sh-sh-she k-k-k-_killed_ them all. They're dead. They're all dead. Hinari."

She collapsed in a dead faint into Hinata's arms.

* * *

**So, uh… yeah. Shit. What do you all think? Reviews would be so wonderful, I can't even explain it, especially if you favourite. I love recognising names and I love feedback even more.**

**Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it and pretty please leave a review :3**

**Much love, Alia xoxo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Oh my God having no internet sucks hairy man balls (and that's never pleasant). Should be getting it by Friday though! I'm so so sorry to everyone I haven't yet replied to, I've had so many assignments and exams to do I've barely had time to breathe let alone reply, just please know that your thoughts mean so much to me and have really helped me concentrate during this shitty time, so thank you.**

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watchingtherain1  
Hyuga09  
WitchyBitch  
WarFlower  
lilacblossom  
Hikari To Seimei  
Mona133  
Wish a boo-tay  
Guest**

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 14**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Hinata screamed for Ko to come and help her, and together they managed to carry Nise into Hinata's home, where they rested her on the couch and Hinata immediately began to work on healing the girls wounds. There were bruises on her arms and legs, and grazes all over her skin. Five long, deep cuts made by a kunai were scattered at intervals, one running the length of each arm, two across her chest and one on her stomach. It was grisly work, trying to first stop the torrential bleeding and then attempting to coax the skin into repairing itself.

Gaara arrived a few minutes later, terror on his features after seeing the pool of blood soaked sand outside Hinata's door, and he stood aside quietly as Hinata did her work.

When at last she had finished, a fine layer of sweat coating her brow and blood spattered all over her clothes, she turned to him, a look of exhaustion on her features. "She'll be okay," Hinata said to him, wiping her red hands on her shirt, leaving bloody handprints on the material. "I'll need to take her to the hospital soon, though. She lost a lot of blood. She'll need a transfusion."

Gaara remained silent, eyes wide and staring. She stood directly before him, demanding his attention.

"We need to go and find the rest of the orphans. Nise said something before she fainted. We need to go and see if anyone else has been harmed."

That seemed to snap him out of his delirium, and he nodded at her. "Of course. We leave immediately."

"Ko," said Hinata, turning to the man. "Keep an eye on Nise. When she wakes up, take her to the hospital and tell the staff she needs a transfusion immediately. Got it?"

"Hai," Ko said, nodding his understanding. "Of course, Lady Hinata."

Hinata and Gaara raced from her home and out into the streets.

"Who's first on the list?" Hinata asked, and Gaara drew the small paper from his pocket.

"Kameko Izumi," said Gaara quickly. "She lives on her own a few blocks from here. Follow me."

They arrived within minutes, and Hinata felt a shudder of premonition creep up her spine. The door was unlocked, and swung open into the dark apartment easily. They stepped inside, Hinata holding a kunai in front of her and her Byakugan activated. Gaara's sand swirled dangerously around his body, daring any to get too close.

Through her Byakugan, Hinata could see the lifeless body of Kameko in a room to her right, and as she got closer the smell of blood assailed her senses. She swung open the door and lowered her weapon, walking towards the dead girl and taking her hand in hers.

She was lying on top of the covers, eyes wide and staring and lifeless, her throat slashed to the bone.

"She's still warm," said Hinata softly as Gaara entered the room behind her. The blood at the gash in her throat had started to coagulate, but it hadn't dried completely, and her hand still had a little warmth from lingering false life where it touched Hinata's. "This couldn't have happened more than half an hour ago."

Gaara stepped forward, coming to a stop next to her, determination written on his face. "I'll get a team here immediately. We're going to go around to all the names on this list. We will find Hinari."

The name jolted Hinata, and she snatched the piece of paper from his hands. "There's someone I want to go to next. We have to go to next," she said, scanning her eyes down the paper. "Her." She pointed to a name about half way down the list. "Hirari Kawasaki. She's my office-mate's adopted daughter. She's the right age, she looks like Hinari would look, she wears a blindfold over her eyes. I'm certain it's to hide her Byakugan. And you only need to change one letter in her name to get Hinari. We need to go to her next."

"If it is Hinari, we'll need backup. I'll gather some nin and meet you at her house."

It only took a quarter of an hour for Hinata, Gaara, and a team of ten Shinobi at their backs to gather outside the house. It was modest in size, and blended in perfectly with the houses on either side. Nothing particularly remarkable, but Hinata didn't expect it to be.

Gaara knocked on the front door, and Mami answered it moments later.

"Kazekage-sama!" she exclaimed. "What an absolute honour! Is there anything I can do for you? Is everything alright? Hinata-san, it's good to see you, why are there so many Shinobi at my house? And my Gods, what happened to your shirt! Are you alright? Why are you covered in blood?"

"We need to see your daughter," Gaara interjected, his voice like ice.

Mami blanched, and soon her husband came to stand at her shoulder. "Hirari? Oh goodness, of course, Kazekage-sama. Is she okay? Has something happened? Hirari's a good girl, sir."

Gaara narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Is your daughter here?" he insisted, his tone irritated.

Mami nodded, her eyes bright. "Of course." She turned her head. "Hirari, come here sweetie, Kazekage-sama would like to speak to you!"

There was silence for a moment, then the sound of scuffling feet as Hirari slowly made her way from inside the house to the front door, hand trailing along the wall as she went.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Kazekage-sama?" she asked sweetly, blindfold in place around her eyes.

Hinata could _feel_ the glare that Gaara shot her, and had to force herself to not glare at the girl too.

It was then that a messenger ran up to the group, his face pale, his breath shallow. He made his way towards Gaara immediately and whispered hurried words into his ear. After a few moments Gaara nodded at him. "Tell that to Hinata," he said, and the man turned towards her, the intent to relay his words on his face.

He came up next to her and put his mouth against her ear, whispering quick, quiet words.

"The search team investigated all of the names given to us. Every child listed is dead. Throat slashed. Every child in the orphanage along with anyone who helped overnight has been murdered in their sleep. The only known survivors are this girl and the one you saved earlier."

Hinata's heart skipped a beat and she felt all the blood drain from her face.

"A-all of them?" she asked, her voice shaky. He nodded his confirmation. "How many?"

"Thirty-two." He looked as if he was about to be sick and Hinata felt that she probably didn't look much better.

She was able to get past the haze of shock in time to hear Gaara say: "Hirari Kawasaki, you are under arrest for suspicion of murdering thirty-two people last night. Come with us."

She watched as Hirari was led away by three Shinobi and Mami collapsed to the ground in a faint. She could hear her father yelling at Gaara and the Shinobi, but wasn't properly able to concentrate on what he was saying. She could see Gaara trying to calm him, but knew it wouldn't work. Hirari was quiet as she was led away.

* * *

A sombre cloud had settled over Suna. Preparations were going ahead for the Celebration of Fire, but it was the only thing anyone talked about. No one dared mention the thirty-two people who had been slain: twenty-nine of them had been under the age of seventeen, one of them was only six months old, and three of them were volunteers who worked in the city orphanage. A mass funeral had been arranged that Monday, and no one was required to work: everyone attended the funerals. The Celebration of Fire would act as a memorial as well as a way for the people of the city to move on.

When Hinata arrived at work the next day, she was met with silent glares. Even Ren, normally so jovial, watched her silently as she walked past. She pretended to not hear the whispers.

_I heard that the person who killed everyone was a Hyuuga._

_Maybe they should arrest _her_ instead._

_I can't believe she got Hirari arrested! How is Mami holding up?_

_Not good, they won't let her see her daughter._

_How can she live with herself? Allowing a helpless blind girl to be arrested like that._

_As if she could kill anyone, she can't even see…_

Hinata made it to her classroom, the weight of the whispers on her back. She sighed with relief, closing the door behind her and shutting her eyes for a moment to gather herself. She knew in her heart that having Hirari arrested was for the best. She wouldn't be harmed unless there was definitive proof of her guilt. Gaara had assured her of as much the previous day at the funerals.

If Hirari was innocent, then at least Hinata could be certain and she would be released without being harmed.

If Hirari were guilty however…

There was a growing pile of evidence against her. First it was merely how she looked. That she was the right age, with black hair, conveniently blind eyes, pale skin, an orphan, a name that was just far too similar to Hinari's. Now it was the fact that out of every single orphan under the age of seventeen, she was one of only two people who hadn't been massacred, and the only one who had escaped completely unharmed.

On the one hand, she could have escaped because she was Hinari. On the other hand, she could have escaped because the real Hinari was setting her up. Hinata wasn't sure which of the two it could be. The latter seemed to be more Hinari's style, but then again Hinata was certain that that's what Hinari would want her to think.

Hinata's head pounded. She had to stop thinking about everything for a moment. Doing so would only send her into a panic attack, and she had a class to teach. She opened her eyes and with a smile on her face turned to her class.

"It's good to s-see you all," she said, her stammer making a brief return due to her stress. "I'm so happy to see that n-none of you failed the last test. This semester we'll b-be perfecting our chakra for h-healing, learning to mould our chakra into different shapes, a-and all about antidotes, especially herbal f-for when you're on a m-mission."

The students shot her wary looks, and Nise, who was in the front row, looked exhausted and pale, her ordeal having taken its toll on her, but they all opened their books and readied themselves for the day ahead.

* * *

The Celebration of Fire was far larger than anything Hinata had anticipated. It had been moved outside the walls, and stalls had been set up in rows upon rows, selling everything from sweets to trinkets to clothing to meals. It seemed that all of Suna had come out to celebrate, and Hinata felt giddy amongst the crowds, music and general hubbub that was happening around her. Gaara had brought her from her home only an hour prior, but he had had to leave her near the markets so as to help organise some last minute details.

As it was night time, a chill wind had picked up, but Hinata merely buried herself deeper into her coat, drank some more of her hot spiced wine, and looked on in amazement at the Celebration. She had seen clouds around earlier in the day, and knew that one of Suna's rare storms would be hitting soon: she prayed that it wouldn't happen until later that night, when all the festivities were over.

"Lady Hinata," said Ko, tapping her on the shoulder, his own beverage held steady in his other hand. "I do believe that the main part of the Celebration is soon to begin, and Kazekage-sama is waiting for you at the stage." He addressed Gaara with a slightly sour edge to his tone, and Hinata knew that he was still wary of the Kazekage and the mutual affections that were springing up between the two. Hinata, however, didn't care. She looked over at where a large temporary wooden dais had been set up, and started to make her way through the crowd towards it. People along the way either sneered at her or ignored her, but she forced her head high and refused to acknowledge any of it, no matter how much it hurt her to see their disdain.

It took a while for her to reach the place where Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and a number of other (she assumed) important Sunagakure advisors were milling, but she was eventually able to squeeze her way through the crowd.

"Ah, Hinata," said Gaara, stepping forward to greet her. "I'm glad you're here. The speeches are about to begin."

He led her up onto the stage, where over a dozen seats had been set up. Temari, it seemed, had purposefully left the seat to her right open, and Hinata sat in it while Gaara took to the front of the stage, hushing the audience within moments.

"People of the proud city of Sunagakure," Gaara said, his voice carrying over the air right to the people furthest away. "It is with great happiness and sadness that we hold this ceremony this year."

With only a few words he had garnered the attention of each and every person. Hinata found herself captivated, and couldn't look away from him. Gaara was dressed in his formal Kazekage robes, his normally unruly hair having been tamed (somewhat) and his teal eyes pierced through the crowd.

"We are here to mourn the loss of the Monks of the Wind Temple, the twenty-nine orphans and three volunteers, and the three Hyuuga investigators from Konohagakure. We will ensure that their lives were not taken in vain."

Hinata looked away at that, tears welling in her eyes, not only for the loss of her kin, but the overwhelming loss that all of Suna had suffered because of Hinari.

"These terrible tragedies that have befallen us are the work of one person, and we are doing all in our power to capture her and bring her to justice. She will answer for her crimes."

There was a roar of approval from the crowd at Gaara's words, and he waited a moment for absolute silence before he continued.

"But from the ashes of our loss, there has been life. The hospital is being renovated, and will soon be receiving much needed extra staff, as trained by our guest from Konoha, the famed Hyuuga Hinata, who is also doing everything within her power to help us capture the person who has committed such heinous crimes against us."

Hinata had expected an uproar at that, protesters screaming out that it was her fault Hirari was being interrogated, but luckily Gaara had them completely enraptured and under his spell.

"Our alliance with the other Nations is stronger than ever, and peace will be bountiful for the foreseeable future. Trade is booming, and we are becoming the prosperous nation that we deserve to be."

There was a loud cheer at that, people expressing their deep approval of their Kazekage. Hinata couldn't help but feel her chest swell. He was an amazing leader.

"It has been an incredible honour to be your Kazekage, and I hope that the love I have for this Village and its people is obvious in every decision I make. I am humbled to be your Kazekage, and if you will have me, it would be an honour to continue to serve you."

The people went _insane._ Hinata didn't think that people were capable of making such a noise, but she felt that she was a fool to doubt such a thing. She could tell by their cheering, by the looks of joy on their faces that they loved him, and she could see by the look in his eyes that he loved them equally. She felt that she could never understand the complete depth of that love, but decided that merely playing witness to it was a privilege. If she could love someone half as much her life would be full of happiness.

The love that she had once felt for Naruto seemed so fickle in comparison, it made her want to laugh.

At that moment, fireworks went off, lighting up the sky in beautiful shades of red, blue, orange, green, yellow, and white. Hinata looked up in wonder, mouth open in a wondrous smile and eyes alight, reflecting all the different hues of exploding colour.

She barely noticed when Ko nudged her side, muttering something like "feeling sick" and "going home". She didn't pay attention, only snapping from her awestruck reverie when Gaara sat beside her, taking Ko's now empty seat.

"It's so beautiful, Gaara," she said, not taking her eyes off of the display.

"It is," he agreed, and when she was finally able to take her eyes away from the sight she found that he wasn't paying attention to the fireworks whatsoever. She flushed, a thrilled shiver running down her spine.

Music had started up again, fighting to be heard over the din of fireworks. Hinata watched all of the people laughing and dancing, forgetting the woes of the past week in a moment of glee.

"Hinata!" she turned to see Nise standing at the foot of the stage, her electric blue eyes alight. "Come and dance with me!"

Hinata felt so intoxicated on the happiness of everyone around her that she immediately got to her feet in one fluid motion and moved, barely registering said movement, towards the front of the stage and jumping off. Nise took her hand and immediately dragged her into the crowd, an almost insane grin on her face and her cheeks red with mirth. They danced together, for minutes, hours, Hinata couldn't tell, under the light of the fireworks that were still scattering overhead and the shimmering of the stars and moon. The music thrummed a frenzy into her veins, and Hinata had never felt more alive than she did in that moment.

She felt nearly invincible, laughing and singing and moving to a beat that was as much inside her as in the air around her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, revelling in the feeling, and when she opened them again she watched as Nise was enveloped in a stranger's embrace and gently led away. Unresisting, she went with them. Many of the people around her were choosing partners blindly, going off instinct more than attraction.

The clouds overhead slowly started blocking out the stars and the moon, and distantly Hinata could hear the rumbling of an imminent storm. In that instant, Gaara stood before her, and she dragged him along.

"Dance with me!" she insisted, taking his hands in her own.

"We should head back," he said, his voice a strange island of reason in the surrounding sea of madness.

Hinata didn't like it. She wanted him to be as drunk on life and love and laughter as she was, so she pulled him in closer.

"No," she said, a giggle escaping a part in her lips. "We should stay."

"It's going to rain soon," he said, resisting her movements.

"I don't care," she retaliated and threw her arms about his neck. "Dance with me Gaara," she asked, a hint of pleading in her tone.

But before he could give his answer, the heavens opened up and a torrential rain fell from the sky. Hinata squealed with a strange mixture of shock and joy, laughter still on her face. Her hair quickly stuck to her cheeks and her clothes glued themselves to her sides. She felt Gaara's fingers entwine with her own and then he was pulling her back towards Suna along with the vast majority of the crowd. She let herself be pulled, let him find them shelter. In that moment she was incapable of anything except wonderment, the thrill of the night still coursing through her veins.

They passed through the gates, and Hinata looked above her to see bruised clouds and lightening light up the sky.

It was the first time she had seen it rain in Suna, and she was overjoyed by how incredible it was.

Suna never did anything by halves, she realised. Not even its weather. During the day it was as hot as a dying sun, and at night as cold as a breath of ice. Always either merciless sun or a monsoon of rain.

She found that she fell in love with Suna just a little more for that fact.

The sand had become heavy and sticky under her feet, and taking a step became a chore. Bodies were pressing all around her and she slowly came to her senses as the situation sunk in.

She felt a tug on her hand, and followed Gaara as he pulled her into an archway and out of the press of pushing bodies.

"Are you okay?" he managed to ask, his breathing heavy.

"Yes," she said, her chest rising and falling from exertion. "That was… that was…" she couldn't find the words for what she had experienced. Nothing seemed quite good enough, powerful enough, to describe the event of the Celebration of Fire.

It had made her feel like there was literally fire in her veins, and she was still a little drunk on the after effects.

"You enjoyed yourself," he stated, his eyes showing the barest hint of amusement and the corner of his lips fought to tug upwards in a smile.

"More than I thought possible," Hinata replied, breathless. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

She couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine, but this one was inspired by the cold and not exultation. Suna turned frigid once the sun set, and the rain had soaked her to the bone. People were still running past them, and the rain was still beating down.

Gaara immediately took off his Kazekage robe and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"You're freezing," he said, looking concerned. "I should get you home."

She smiled half-heartedly. "We can't really step out into that again," she said, gesturing to the mob.

He began pulling strands of hair off of her face, the movement so gentle, so somehow intimate, that Hinata felt another shiver run up her spine, this time for a reason other than the cold.

"Gaara?" she said, her voice quiet.

"Mm?" he said, focused on getting her hair off her face.

"Can…" she felt uncertain, and the barest hint of worry niggled at her. "Can I kiss you?"

He froze, his eyes locking on to hers in an undisguised display of shock. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, when a smile lit up his face.

She barely had time to register what was happening before his lips were on hers, one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her cheek. He seemed hesitant, unsure how to proceed, and so Hinata used what little knowledge she had (most of it garnered from Sakura, Ino, and Tenten during their late-night gossips) to open her mouth and weave her fingers through his hair, inviting him closer into her warmth and a little of the left over intoxication from the euphoria of that night.

Fireworks, just like the ones that had previously lit up the night sky, exploded behind her eyelids, and for a moment she forgot to breathe. She felt lost in him, and despite herself her lips curled up into a smile. Hinata could have sworn that her heart forgot to beat on more than one occasion.

He moved against her, getting himself as close to her as was possible, and she drowned in his scent and the feel of his mouth over hers, his body pressed up tight, his hair slipping between the tips of her fingers. And what felt like aeons later they finally broke apart. He kissed the tip of her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, brushed his lips over her eyelids (when had she started crying?) and finally found her lips again, pressing three gentle kisses against them.

"We should get you home," he said again, his voice a whisper, his breathing once again heavy.

"Probably," she answered, equally breathless and unable to wipe the ecstatic grin off her face. "Ko is probably wondering where I am."

She opened her eyes finally and was met with his piercing teal gaze, swimming with emotions he probably didn't know how to express

"How can I let you go now?" he asked, the question rhetorical. She merely grabbed his hand and pulled him out onto the streets, where only a few stragglers remained and none of them caring to look up and see who had just appeared out of an archway.

Though Hinata's body was thrumming with energy, she walked back to her house with him, keeping his hand firmly grasped within hers. And all too soon they came to her doorway. Hinata wasn't sure how to proceed. She didn't want him to leave. Not yet. It felt like her night had barely begun.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?" she asked, scrounging for an excuse to make him stay.

He accepted, seeming to not want to leave her just yet either. She smiled radiantly and opened the door, pulling him in behind her.

She stopped dead in her tracks, a sense of complete wrongness shuddering up her spine.

"Something's not right," she whispered, eyes darting about the house. Ko wasn't asleep on the couch, and everything was just a little bit _too_ quiet. It was all a little too still, too neat. The strong smell of perfumes and cleaning products permeated the air, and Hinata gagged on it.

Slowly, not wanting to turn on her Byakugan lest she see something she wasn't ready for, she crept deeper into the house, her guard up, ears alert for anything out of place.

"I'll check the kitchen and laundry," Gaara whispered behind her, making her jump a little before she nodded. She made her way into her bedroom, checking behind her door, in her closet, under her bed, in every nook and cranny someone could possibly squeeze in to.

Her bedroom was empty.

A light was on under her bathroom door however, and with shaking hands she opened it.

Hinata took one glance at the mirror and sunk to her knees, unable to support herself.

"G… Gaara," she said, unable to work up the energy to shout for him. Tears pricked at the rims of her eyes and Gaara was next to her in a moment, equally unable to look away from her mirror.

Written in blood, with child-like handwriting, Hinari had left a message.

_There was a little girl,_

_With eyes that looked like pearls,_

_And hair as black as sin._

_And when she was good,_

_She was very, very good._

_And when she was bad…_

_Well…_

* * *

**So… ummm… is anyone going to Sydnova this weekend? Because if anyone is, I'll be there all three days so hit me up, I'd love to meet you! I'll be going as Sakura (Naruto) on Friday and Saturday, and Trish from Devil May Cry (anime version) on Sunday. I hope everyone's doing well, and I should have an (on time!) update next fortnight.**

**Much love, Alia xoxo**


	15. Chapter 15

**I swear if I don't have internet by this Friday there might be a murder. They've postponed it three times! Three! asdfghjkl. This isn't okay. Thank you so so much to the lovely people who left a review, it really means a lot to me.**

**Guest – **_I update as much as I possibly can, and I feel bad I can't update more often. Thank you so much for reviewing :)  
_**Guest – **_I despise cliff hangers too… when they're not mine ;) Thank you for your review!  
_**watchingtherain1  
Tamani  
Hyuga09 – **_And it's only going to get worse… D: Thank you lovely!_**  
WarFlower  
Mona133  
Witchy bitch – **_A necessary cull, I'm afraid. Thank you for your review honey :)_**  
Rose101226  
Hikari To Seimei**

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**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 15**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

She was sitting on the front step of her house, a blanket draped around her shoulders and a mug of hot tea cradled between her palms. Shock was still coursing through her system, and though she tried to think rationally, all that was going through her mind was the poem splattered on her mirror.

_And when she was good,_

_She was very, very good._

_And when she was bad…_

_Well…_

Hinata shuddered and closed her eyes.

Hinari had taken Ko, and she could feel her heart bleeding for him. Some of her earliest memories were with Ko. Going through the markets of Konoha, wandering through the streets, her hand held in his.

The night that the Kumogakure nin tried to kidnap her. After she had been rescued, Ko had stayed up all night with her, protecting her within the safety of his arms, stroking her hair, cradling her, being there for her whenever she had needed him.

He had been more of a father to her than her own flesh and blood.

And now he was gone.

After she had tried to protect Naruto from Pein, Ko had stayed by her side the entire time, and had refused to leave her until she had woken up. He had been her shoulder to cry on when Neji had died and the war had ended, had patched up her wounds when a training session had been too intense, had read her stories to send her to sleep after her mother had died…

No…

After her mother had disappeared. Had run away to Suna and given birth to the monstrosity that was Hinari.

Hinata felt a wave of hatred towards her mother at that moment. Why did she leave? Why did she come to Suna with Hinari? What was so wrong, what had happened, that she couldn't have stayed in Konoha. Hana was Hinata's _mother,_ and she _left her_ _alone_ to deal with a mess of a daughter who for some unknown reason had made it her life mission to kill everyone Hinata associated with.

Because of her mother's _stupid_ decision to come to Suna, Hinari had killed twenty-nine innocent children, over a dozen innocent monks, three innocent volunteer workers, she could presume that she had killed Tokuma, Hoheto, and Iroha, and, if he wasn't dead already then he soon would be, Ko. Hinata grieved for them all, felt her chest ache with the horrible knowledge.

Gaara sat down beside her, sighing and putting his head in his hands. Hinata had never seen him look so exhausted. The dark rings around his eyes seemed bruised, and his face was haggard. When he spoke, his voice was raspy. "I'm going to send word to release Hirari. She had guards on her all night. She's not Hinari."

Hinata nodded her head, unable to speak.

"She did her job well. There was no evidence anywhere, apart from the… the mirror. And there is not even a print on that. But I'll send out a team all the same. See if we can't track down Ko, if he's still alive."

Hinata closed her eyes and looked away.

"I should have been here," she said, her voice no louder than a mutter. "I should have been here to protect him. It's me she wants. I should have been here."

He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight against him.

"There was nothing you could do," he tried to reassure her. "You could be dead right now if you tried to intervene. It's not your fault."

She wanted to argue but lacked the energy. Instead she leaned against him, letting her tears fall.

"I'll need to send a message to your father," he continued. "He has to know what's going on. You're in danger."

She just gave another nod.

"Hinata," he said, attempting to choose his words carefully. "I don't want you to stay here anymore. Hinari has gotten in twice now. You're too unprotected here. I want you to move into the Kazekage Tower."

She had no energy to protest, even if she had wanted to. She remembered how he had suggested the same thing after the incident at the Temple, and she had blatantly refused, insisted on staying in her little, unsafe house. And because of that decision, Ko had also stayed in her house. And now he was gone. Was that her fault too?

"Okay," she said softly. She felt him sigh in relief when she didn't argue.

"We'll get your stuff when they've finished investigating."

She just nodded and stood, almost blindly walking towards the Kazekage Tower as a red sun rose in the distance.

* * *

It took almost the whole day for the team of investigators to finish combing her entire house for clues, and they found nothing that would indicate where Hinari had taken Ko, nor anything that might indicate who Hinari had disguised herself as. They couldn't even track her scent, as she had masked it with the smell of dozens of cleaning products and perfumes. Hinata doubted that even Kiba would be able to track her.

Nise found her as she was moving the first of her items, and wordlessly began to help.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"No," Hinata replied, her voice soft.

"Where's Ko?"

Hinata hesitated a moment before replying, forcing back images of his kind, overly protective eyes. "Gone," she said simply. Nise didn't ask any more questions. Hinata sensed that she had been able to figure out what had happened, and as she had suffered loss herself at Hinari's hands, knew that the best form of comfort she could offer Hinata was silent support. Hinata didn't want reassurances. She wanted to mourn.

It took her an hour to move everything, and by the end it was only Ko's things that hadn't been touched. Temari had asked her to pack them and bring them to the lab, and Hinata had refused help from everyone who had offered it. She wanted to undertake that task alone.

She had only just started when a quiet, hesitant knock sounded at her door, and, wiping tears, Hinata walked slowly to the front.

Mami stood there, looking awkward and scuffing her shoes. As Hinata approached, she raised her eyes cautiously, and seemed unsure of what to say.

"Hinata, I…" she began, her words hesitant. "I, um… they… they gave Hirari back to us. She's home now."

Hinata inclined her head, weary after everything that had happened. "I'm glad."

Mami looked up, evidently uncomfortable. "She… she said that they treated her well, when they… when they questioned her. They didn't uh… didn't hurt her."

"I knew they wouldn't," said Hinata, wishing that Mami would leave. She didn't want to have to engage in conversation with her. She wanted to be alone.

"I just… I wanted to apologise. I was angry with you. I was scared for my daughter. Kazekage-sama explained what happened when she was returned. Told us why they took her."

Hinata couldn't do anything but just look at the older woman in front of her. She was beyond exhausted by everything that had happened.

"And… I guess what I wanted to say was that I'm sorry for how I treated you, and I understand why you did what you did. Anyone would have done the same."

Hinata could feel the one sided conversation drain all of the energy from her body. All she wanted to do was sleep, and was irritated with Mami for slowing her progress. She had enough to do with organising and packing up hers and Ko's things. She didn't want to have this conversation right now, and wished that Mami would just leave her alone.

"I'm glad that Hirari is back with you," said Hinata, forcing herself to sound polite. "And thank you for your apology. But I have a lot to do. A lot… a lot has happened, and I need to finish up here. If you'll excuse me."

Taking that as her queue to leave, Mami gave a short and curt bow before she turned and hurried away.

* * *

It took her the rest of the afternoon to finish everything. It had taken three trips to take all of Ko's belongings to the lab, and five to transport everything she owned to the Kazekage Tower. She didn't like leaving her little house, but knew that it was her safest option. She couldn't stay there anymore. Not after Hinari had broken in twice. Not after Ko had been taken. The Kazekage Tower was the safest building in all of Suna. There was a chance that she could be safe there too.

When she had finally finished, she turned to see Gaara standing at the door of her new room.

"I've sent a letter to your father telling him what has happened."

She merely nodded at him, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"He's going to demand that you return home."

She shrugged. "I don't care." Her voice broke.

"You'll have guards posted on you every hour of the day. I can't risk your safety. Hinari is so dangerous. I don't know what I'd do if…" he trailed off, unable to continue the sentence.

He looked more frustrated than Hinata had ever seen him. She could tell that he'd been wracking his brain, trying to figure out the best course of action.

The obvious, she knew, would be to send her home. She had thought about it, wondered if it would be better for her and all of Sunagakure if she were to leave, but two things stopped her.

One, if she did try to leave, then Hinari would most probably try and stop her. Violently. And honestly, Hinata didn't know if she could face her and win. The girl had killed over fifty people, four of them being Hyuuga elite and over a dozen Monks trained in the ways of the ninja.

Two, if she did leave and by some miracle made it home, she could feel in her bones that Hinari would follow her. And that would lead Hinari back to Hinata's family, her kinsman. She would put the entire Hyuuga Clan in danger over that, and she couldn't risk more unnecessary deaths. Not only that, but she was certain that if she left Suna, Hinari would exact revenge on innocent civilians, and she couldn't afford that. She couldn't and wouldn't allow more innocent people to die because of her.

No, she couldn't leave Suna. Not until she had dealt with Hinari. It was too unsafe to do anything else.

Feeling the weight of the last twelve hours crash down on her, Hinata stepped forward and almost fell into Gaara's embrace, relishing the warmth of his arms and the foolish ideal of safety that they brought.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" She couldn't get her voice above a croaked whisper, but he held her a little tighter.

"I'll come back after dinner. Do you want anything to eat?"

The thought of attempting to stomach anything made bile rise in her throat, and she just shook her head.

"Okay," he said, gently releasing her. "I'll be back in an hour."

She turned back to her room, not wanting to watch him leave, and began sorting a few of the necessary things she'd need for the following day. She was due to start the second week of classes, and needed to prepare for that. She removed her uniform, as well as some notes regarding what she would be teaching and some textbooks with relevant information in them. She would get up early and read through the material.

Deciding on having a shower before turning in, she stepped out into the hallway in search of the nearest bathroom. Her hand trailed lazily along the walls, scuffing the clay-like material and causing a few granules to fall to the floor.

There was a room with a basin and basic bathing amenities not far from her room, and she took the opportunity to lock herself inside. She splashed her face with frigid water, hoping to shock herself into action, but all it did was make her hiss and tears well in her eyes.

Hinata missed Konoha, and could feel herself pining for her home. As much as she loved Suna, it wasn't the same. She missed the cherry blossoms blooming along the streets; the safety of her home; the embrace and laughter of her friends. Nothing like this had ever happened in Konoha, and if it had she would have had a team of allies to help her. But she was in Suna, and though she wasn't exactly new to the place anymore, she was still a foreigner. She knew that there were good people trying to help her, but most were only doing it because it was their job, or because the prospect of losing another civilian to Hinari's wrath was too terrifying to consider.

Few people were helping her because they genuinely cared about what happened to her. Gaara was, she knew. And she was certain Temari and Kankuro genuinely cared about her safety, as well as Nise. But beyond that, she didn't have many strong allies within Suna. She'd been too busy with work and Hinari and just a little bit of Gaara to truly try to get to know everyone.

The stunt with Hirari certainly hadn't helped her cause one bit either.

She washed the rest of her body quickly, getting rid of the sweat and tears and stains of the past twenty-four hours, before she gathered her belongings and slowly returned to her room.

She walked, almost as if in a trance, back inside, placing her things neatly in a corner before turning to her new bed, the intention of falling on it an almost irresistible notion.

But before she could, a knock at her door sounded, and she walked slowly over to open it, hoping to see Gaara.

Instead, it was a guard, in his hand a small package. "Lady Hinata," he said, his voice holding the lilting gait common amongst farmers. She nodded, indicating that, yes, she was Hinata. "This was out front, addressed to you. Note on top says they hope you feel better."

"Do you know who it is from?" she inquired, interest piqued, as well as fear.

"No ma'am, and we've made sure there's nothin' dangerous inside. Little jutsu to set off bombs or draw out kunai. Ain't nothin' in there."

Thanking him, Hinata took the package into her room, closing the door behind her.

It was wrapped neatly in white paper, and was otherwise unremarkable. She was confused by the package – it was only very small, about the size of her hand. She felt wary, and held it cautiously, as one would a bomb. Who had sent it? Was it… was it from Hinari? She swallowed back the lump in her throat as that prospect jumped into her head. She didn't want to even entertain the thought.

She picked it up and slowly tore off the white wrapping, and could see a white box underneath. Hinata freed it from its confines, and saw a small card on top. Curious, she turned it over.

Her blood turned to ice as Hinari's now familiar childlike handwriting glared back at her. She could feel herself begin to shake, her legs turned to jelly, scream caught like lead in her throat.

_I can see you,_ it said.

With trembling hands, she forced herself to open the box. She nearly dropped it a few times, and could barely see for the tears that had started leaking from her eyes.

She looked inside and sunk to the floor, sobbing, fighting unconsciousness.

Inside the box were Ko's familiar, beautiful, overprotective eyes; eyes that had been torn from their sockets.

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**So… that happened. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, I'm hoping that now I'm off uni I'll have more time to write ahead for this story and give y'all faster updates. Reviews are always a good motivator *hinthint* ;) If anyone happens to favourite please leave a review, and I hope everyone has a good fortnight!**

**Much love, Alia xoxo**


	16. Chapter 16

**I STAYED AWAKE UNTIL 3AM TRYING TO WRITE THIS BLOODY CHAPTER.**

***breathes* I'm so so so so **_**so**_** sorry that this is late, I tried, I really friggen tried to get it up on time but… I needed to sleep. The words were becoming colourful blurs on my screen and I couldn't continue. I have horrid writers block and I blame me. On the plus side, I'm literally only 15 reviews away from 200 reviews and I can't actually tell you how thrilled that makes me, I just want to sweep you all up and give you kisses, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for that support, it's more appreciated than you can imagine :)**

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**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 16**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

Thursday came, and with it, a letter from Hiashi. Hinata pointedly ignored it as she walked out of the door towards the hospital. She had a job to do, and her father wasn't going to stop her.

Hinata's eyes darted to and fro as she walked along the streets. Sometimes she thought she saw Hinari lurking in the shadows and crevices about her. Long, dark hair falling to her waist, eyes the colour of the moon, skin as pale as milk. The moment Hinata would turn to investigate, the vision would be gone.

The dark bruises under her eyes were tribute to the long, sleepless nights she had begun to experience. Ko's abduction and subsequent torture had rattled her more than she cared to admit. The only solace she ever found was when Gaara would race to her room, carried by her screams, after nightmares would tear her from restless sleep. He would lay by her side and stroke her hair, whisper calming nonsense into her ear until she would fall into a fitful rest beside him.

Her class was progressing well. It was her only reprieve from all things Hinari related, and she had become obsessive. Her students had almost perfected their chakra scalpels, and could concoct most antidotes without relying on any form of text to guide them. Their ability to heal using their chakra was almost perfect. She was proud of them and their achievements. She was proud of herself, too. This job had taught her a little of what it meant to be a leader, and she hoped that that would further cement her position of being the future Head of the Hyuuga Clan.

She eventually made it to class, where everyone was already sitting in their seats, waiting for her. Outside, she could sense Temari's presence – the three Sand Siblings had taken it upon themselves to guard her personally in shifts, and she was too weary and grateful to protest.

The day passed in a blur: she taught her students what she needed to, and was aware enough to know that they were handling everything she tasked them with better than she could have hoped for. When, at last, it was time for her to return home, the students having filed out (Nise was the last and shot Hinata worried looks over her shoulder) she did so with Kankuro walking beside her. Hinata was silent – even had she wanted to, she wouldn't have known what to say to Kankuro. She was glad that he sensed this, and didn't try to engage her in conversation.

They parted in silence the moment she arrived at her bedroom door, and despite her haze of fatigue, she was grateful for his easy companionship. She collapsed on her bed into an uneasy sleep full of nightmares that did little to alleviate how worn she felt.

* * *

When she woke, dawn had barely arrived, the only sign of its presence being the slight lightening of the horizon. While not refreshed, she couldn't fall back asleep either, and quietly slipped out of bed. The Tower was icy as she crept through the hallways, the candles burned low, some of them had extinguished, and she eventually found the kitchen. She wasn't hungry, but necessity dictated that she eat. She made herself some toast with some form of jam common amongst the Suna people, and took it to the dining room, mindlessly eating a slice.

Gaara was sitting at the table, head bent low over some papers and, if the quivering of his shoulders was any indication, he hadn't slept in days. He only noticed her when she sat in the seat next to him.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, attempting a smile but giving up almost immediately.

She shook her head. "No." Her voice was barely audible. "Did you sleep?" The question sounded stupid, even to her. Of course he hadn't slept. It was obvious.

"No," he said, the answer unnecessary. "Did you read the letter from your father?"

"No," she said, finding she hated the word.

"He wants you to go home," Gaara stated, reaching across the table and rifling through some papers before he found the letter. "You should read it."

"I won't go home until Hinari is found," Hinata insisted, but took the letter anyway. It was short and succinct, typical of her father.

_Hinata,_

_Due to Ko's recent abduction I have deemed the situation in Sunagakure to be too dangerous. You are to return to Konoha immediately and without delay._

_Your father, Hiashi._

"I know you won't," said Gaara, almost managing a smile. "You should reply to him."

She nodded and, finding a blank sheet of paper and pen, began to write.

_Dearest father,_

_I am sorry to say that I am unable to return home. I believe that by leaving, Hinari could react in one of two ways: she would either be angered by my departure and take that anger out on the innocent civilians of Sunagakure, or she could follow me home and present a danger to the Clan. She has made it clear that she wants me. I would rather die trying to find her like a true ninja than run away like a coward._

_Sincerely, Hinata._

She didn't bother editing or proofing it – she folded it, sealed it, and left it on the table to take to the aviary later in the morning.

They sat in silence for a while. Hinata finished her toast, and then watched as the sun crested over Suna. Gaara's shoulders continued to shake with exhaustion, until his hands were quaking so strongly Hinata insisted he go to his room and try to sleep.

"You know I won't be able to," he said, a hint of protest in his tone, but otherwise it sounded like drained resignation.

"You need to try." Her voice was quiet. She didn't have the strength to raise it above a whisper.

"You need to sleep too," he pointed out, still not quite a protest, though the attempt was there.

"I have slept."

He nearly managed an eye roll. "Not properly."

She shook her head a little, almost able to gather a light smile on her lips. "I have class soon."

The banter was quickly tiring the both of them, and though Hinata wanted it to continue she knew that it would have to end soon. Gaara needed to sleep, and she needed to go to the hospital. She had never wanted a day off so badly in her life.

"Have you heard of the Suna springs?" Gaara asked her suddenly, already half risen from his chair.

She shrugged, the words not sparking any form of recognition. "I don't think so. Why?"

"They're these natural springs located deep in the caves that are through the cliff range Suna backs on to. They're said to be calming, and maybe they'd help us both get a decent sleep. I'll take you there some time if you want?"

The thought was so tempting, Hinata nearly demanded he take her to these springs then and there, but she resisted the urge, her responsibilities ringing clearly in her head. "I'd like that," she said. "But…" her fears quickly came to surface again, and she said with trepidation: "Hinari…"

"She would be foolish to attack us both. A Kage and the Heir to the Hyuuga Clan? I'd like to see her try."

She shook her head. "But you're exhausted, Gaara."

He placed his hand over hers gently. "I can handle exhaustion. This is nothing compared to the exhaustion I faced when I was a Jinchuuriki."

Feeling a little more reassured, she finally gave a small nod.

His eyes crinkled a little. "I'll let you know as soon as I have a free moment and we'll go." He left the room as his cloak fluttered about his heels.

* * *

Friday seemed to take an age to pass, yet when Hinata looked back on it, it felt like little more than a blur. She sent a messenger hawk to Konoha, taught at the hospital with Temari as her protector (Temari had insisted on mornings as it would be easier for her to oversee the renovations on the hospital at the same time), then Kankuro came to take her home. On Saturday, the same routine played out like a mind-numbing carbon copy.

When she woke on Sunday, she did so expecting the day to be slow. And, unsurprisingly, most of it played out that way. After Temari reassured her that they had no news of Ko's whereabouts, and that the best thing she could do for him was to wait, she began to revise everything she would be teaching her students the following week. The information floated through her brain and none of it stuck or made much sense. She gave up on the endeavour and attempted more sleep (which she failed at).

She explored the Tower a little, but the expedition yielded few resulted. Kankuro offered to give her a tour, but she refused. Hinata contemplated disturbing Gaara for even a little while, but quickly rejected the idea – he was no doubt busy with his duties or catching up on some much needed sleep (Kankuro had informed her that they'd had to sedate him with a near lethal dosage of nightshade just to force him to rest).

Dinner was a dull affair consisting of herself, Kankuro, and chicken-noodle soup that tasted like ash in her mouth. Neither of them spoke, and she, once again, felt grateful that Kankuro was so easy to be around. Afterwards, Kankuro walked her to her room.

He saw it first.

But Hinata saw the little white box outside her bedroom door almost immediately afterwards, though Kankuro did his best to hide it from her.

She held out her hand expectantly as she drew level with him. "Please give me the box, Kankuro-san," she said, exhausted beyond measure.

"Hinata-chan, it might not even be from her, don't worry about -"

"Kankuro, _please,_" she insisted, interrupting his sentence.

He looked at her with defeated eyes. "Hurting yourself won't bring him back, Hinata."

She was fighting tears. "I _owe_ him this," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

He sighed, and she could nearly hear him trying to think about what to do. "You read the note, I'll look in the box," he eventually compromised.

She was too tired to argue, and truthfully, she didn't want to see what was inside. It was the only reason she hadn't activated her Byakugan. So she nodded a small, jerky nod, and he placed a small sheet of paper in her hands.

The familiar, child-like scrawl still sent shivers down her spine as she read the note.

_I can hear you,_ it said.

Kankuro looked up from the box, his face having turned a sickly shade of green.

"What was in the box?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Ears," he replied in a short, clipped tone. "I'll… deal with this… you try and sleep." He didn't give her an opportunity to reply before her snatched the paper out of her hands and took off down the hallway.

* * *

Gaara finally came to her on the Tuesday. She'd just entered her room and placed her belongings on the bed when his gentle knock sounded at the door. A quick flash of her Byakugan was all it took to verify his identity and she opened the door for him.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, more out of reflex than anything.

A ghost of a smile flickered past his lips. "Everything is as well as it can be," he answered her, and she felt herself relax a little with his words. "Do you remember the springs I mentioned the other morning?" he continued.

She gave a slight nod. "Of course." She felt the first stirrings of excitement in her gut, and began to hope that he had come to take her to these springs and distract her from the horrors of Hinari and the otherwise boring tedium of the hospital.

"Would you like to go to them now?" He sounded unsure, but Hinata hadn't felt so thrilled since the Celebration of Fire.

The words had barely left his mouth before she started to upend her room looking for some appropriate swimwear. She'd never thought to bring any, as she had always assumed that Suna was too dry and arid to sustain any form of pool, and so she eventually found an old shirt she'd saved for doing chores and some underwear to use as substitutes.

They set off as dusk fell, and a smattering of stars littered the darkening horizon. It was still hot outside, though thankfully the setting of the sun provided some relief.

The caves were only a quarter-hour walk from the Kazekage Tower, and though she and Gaara didn't speak during the walk she found his presence comforting. The silences she shared with Gaara always seemed to be more… meaningful than those she spent with others. People like Kankuro, she knew, always wanted to talk, yet often stayed quiet for her benefit. Gaara was like her – he didn't deem it necessary to fill every silence with noise.

The caves were wet with heat, and water-droplets were soon trickling down Hinata's skin. Gaara had led her into one of the smaller caves – they had passed maybe half a dozen others on their way, all of various sizes. The largest had boasted up to ten springs, and that one had been full of at least twenty children and their parents, all relaxing and gallivanting about. He brought her to a cave with only one pool, and it was empty.

She quickly raced to find a small alcove where she could change, and after she pulled her hair up into a messy knot she almost ran into the pool, so that he might not see her in such little clothing.

The water lulled at a delicious temperature somewhere short of scorching, and Hinata nearly moaned as the heat worked out the stress-induced kinks that had formed all over her body. She closed her eyes and submerged herself up to her chin, and her eyes stayed closed as Gaara's feet padded almost noiselessly over to the pool. Through a chink in her eyelashes, she watched as he lowered himself into the water, and failed to fight a blush upon realising that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She kept her eyes firmly shut, and was glad that the water was so hot, she could blame the red staining her cheeks on the heat.

"Why are your eyes closed?" he asked her.

She scrambled about for an answer. "I… I want them to be," she said lamely, feeling yet more heat rise up in her cheeks.

She didn't even notice that he'd moved until his hands were on her cheeks. Startled, her eyes shot open and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"Don't…" he began, searching for words. "Don't close your eyes. I want you to see me. Don't be ashamed to see me. Please."

She could have melted into the vast ocean of his eyes. She plucked her hand slowly from the water and raised it to rest gently against his cheek. "I… I'm not ashamed," she said, and for the first time in over a week she was able to give him a proper, genuine smile.

He returned it, the corners of his eyes crinkling a little.

A thought came into her head. "How long do we have?"

His brow creased. "What do you mean?"

She genuinely wasn't sure. "Here," she improvised, though really she wanted to bombard him with far more. How long did they have together? Was this doomed to last only until her contract ran out and Konoha called her home? She couldn't see them figuring anything more out. They had duties and ties to their own Villages and Clans that bound them inextricably, beyond any other bonds that may form. She couldn't leave her Clan. She was its Heir. And he was the Kazekage, which was never a title to be taken or given freely. They were bound to things bigger than themselves, and she didn't know how something like this could survive.

She wasn't sure if he could see the questions playing across her eyes, but his answer led her to believe he may have guessed.

"As long as you want."

She stood up onto the tips of her toes to brush his lips with the softest caress of her own.

* * *

**I don't think you want to know how long it took me to write that chapter. Here's hoping that's the only one I get stuck on, though me being me... Reviews always help with writers block though *hinthint* ;)**

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**\- Alia xoxo**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone, I know I'm so late with this chapter and I can't say sorry enough. Thank you for your patience, I can't tell you how grateful I am for it. It's been really busy going back to uni and starting a second job, but I'm doing the best I can to still give you guys chapters. I'd rather take a little longer to give you guys some semblance of quality than pump out some half-assed thing. I hope you can understand, and just know that should I be so late again then it has absolutely nothing to do with any of you and everything to do with just a really hectic lifestyle. Thank you so much to those who reviewed (I'm over 200 now! Holy shit!) and thank you even more for your patience. I hope that this chapter at least somewhat makes it up to you, and I tried to make it extra long just for you :)**

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**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 17**

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* * *

She wasn't quite sure what prompted her to write the letter. It seemed, with everything that was going on, like the right thing to do. Her class was due to start in an hour, yet she'd already been up since pre-dawn, attempting to find the right words when none seemed suited for the situation.

She didn't even know where to start. With a greeting? She didn't know if she could. Yet she didn't want it to sound too severe, either. She wasn't angry or upset. Not anymore.

_Dear Hanabi,_ she wrote, and prayed that the words sounded calm and not sarcastic.

_It has been nearly four months since I left Konoha._ A true fact. Three months, three weeks, and five days, if she were to be technical. But she wasn't counting. At least, she was trying not to.

_While Suna has provided a lot of unexpected things, it has given me the clarity and space to truly think about everything that happened. I was so angry and hurt when I left Konoha._ She didn't want to sugar-coat her words. They were the truth, and she wanted to try for an almost clean slate with her sister. Hinari may have been out for her blood, but she did have another sister, one whom she loved with all her heart, even if Hanabi had broken it.

Maybe she was doomed to have sisters who only caused her pain.

_But I guess I'm writing this to you to tell you that I forgive you._ As she wrote the words, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Hanabi, for all her faults, was still her sister, and she loved her. Naruto felt like such a petty secret, now that she thought back on it. And she had barely thought about him for weeks. She had thought, at the time, that she had even loved him. Yet how could she have had even the slightest idea of what romantic love was like, when she had never experienced it before Naruto? She had found him fascinating – the rebellious, talentless child whom no one liked with a fancy for the Hokage title. She had gotten fascination and love confused.

She had actually let him come between her and her sister.

_You hurt me,_ she continued, finding that the words came easier with her last sentence. _I didn't know how I would recover after what you did to me. To me, it felt as if you dated Naruto purely out of spite. As if the idea that I should be both Heir to our Clan and love the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village was too much for one person._

_But despite what you did, I love you. You are my sister, and I love you. I have found a kind of happiness in Suna. I am at peace with what has happened between us, and I hope that you are too. Things have happened here that have put our bond into perspective for me. I don't want to fill you in on too many details, as I don't know what father has or has not deigned to tell you, but if you are curious, please ask him about Hinari. Maybe you'll learn more from him than he has told me._

_I cannot change what has happened, but I can grow from it. You are my sister, and the love that I may have had for Naruto should not get in the way of that._

_Your sister, Hinata._

* * *

As soon as class had finished for the night, Hinata insisted that Kankuro take her to the training grounds. She needed to train; to get stronger. And she felt that Kankuro's ability to manipulate puppets with his chakra may be able to help her with that.

"What is it you're trying to do, exactly?" Kankuro huffed, sweat pooling on his brow.

Hinata felt a shiver creep up her spine as a cool breeze wafted through her hair. Dusk had fallen an hour or so ago, and it was getting chilly. "I would like you to teach me how to concentrate a lot of chakra into a small space. You are able to do that with your chakra strings, and I would like to learn it."

He looked at her, confusion marring his face. "Why?" he asked. "You're not a puppeteer."

She struggled with the words. "I… you know my Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists technique, don't you?"

"Yeah, 'course," he said.

"Well, it's… it's probably my most powerful jutsu. But it's such a big jutsu, and when I attack it's such an obvious jutsu. I want to learn how to make it smaller, senbon sized, so that I can throw it at people without them knowing. But I don't want it to lose any of its power. That's why I need to learn to concentrate it. And I was hoping that… that because you're an expert in concentrating a lot of chakra into something small, like chakra strings, that maybe you could help me. K… Ko tried to help me, but the Hyuuga haven't ever really tried something like this." The name was still painful for her to say, but she felt it would be an insult to his memory if she refused to say it.

He seemed to think for a moment, a line creasing his brow as he pondered what he could do. His face lit up as an idea came to him and he said: "Okay, well, activate your Byakugan and watch my chakra strings. See if you can't see something in that that'll help you out."

Doing as she was told, Hinata activated her Byakugan as Kankuro let his chakra flow from his fingertips and into fine blue chakra strings.

The strings were so thin, she felt that a single brush of air would break them. She was surprised upon finding that the majority of his chakra was concentrated, not in the strings themselves, but in a blue ball in his palms. He had redirected the chakra from his arms and shoulders straight towards his palms, and then had proceeded to fracture the pent-up chakra into five fine strings, supplying them with a constant stream of chakra. By keeping the source of the chakra strings in his palms, he had allowed far more flexibility and movement of the strings, while also being able to retain absolute control over them.

She was _fascinated,_ and immediately began thinking of ways where she could apply this into her own technique.

By keeping her chakra contained in her palms, she could charge her jutsu with enough chakra to throw it before it had left her. She wouldn't need to worry about it disintegrating too quickly as she would be able to ensure it had enough chakra to fly before it would even leave her palm.

Turning her Byakugan off, she felt a wave of exhaustion assail her. "Thank you, Kankuro-san," she said, offering him a small smile. "We should head back now."

They left for the Tower in companionable silence.

* * *

Friday morning she woke to a messenger hawk perched on her port-hole window. Curious, she walked slowly over to it and detached the small scroll from its leg. The bird (a magnificent beast with dark feathers and bright, intelligent eyes) ruffled its feathers before flying back out the window and in the direction of the aviary.

The first thing Hinata noticed about the scroll was that it had the official Hyuuga seal on it, and resigned to whatever punishment her father had thought up for her insolence, opened it.

_Hinata,_ it read.

_Your determination in catching this rogue scourge is admirable, and a quality worthy of the Hyuuga Heiress. However, your safety is still paramount, and as such I will be sending two Hyuuga elite to guard you. They should arrive by Saturday._

_Your father, Hiashi._

More than a little relieved, Hinata dressed quickly and left to inform Gaara of her clansmen's imminent arrival.

* * *

They never arrived.

She waited anxiously in her classroom all Saturday, distractedly attempting to teach her students. Her eyes constantly flickered to the clock on the wall, watching as the seconds ticked by like a time-bomb, each one cementing the fact that her clansmen had not yet arrived, nor would they.

She didn't lose hope, however. As each agonising minute ticked by, she glanced at the doorway, hoping to see two sets of those pale eyes, unique to her clan.

Class finished for the day, and still they hadn't come. Kankuro came past to take her home, and she pretended that she couldn't see the worry in his eyes. She stayed awake for as long as she could that night, curled up on a lounge in the Tower living room, before exhaustion claimed her and she fell asleep.

When she woke up, still exhausted, on Sunday morning, she went to the training grounds to attempt to put into practise her new idea. Witnessing how Kankuro made his chakra strings renewed her vigour for attempting the jutsu, and if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to think about what could have befallen her Clansmen.

Forcing the chakra into her palms was harder than she initially thought it would be. She could feel the power of it in her belly, could feel it spread through her body like some kind of narcotic, setting her blood on fire. When she breathed it felt like inhaling ice and exhaling flames as it rolled through her stomach like snakes. She felt a little dizzy on the power that surged through her; activating her Byakugan as easily as she could blink. She sent power to her eyes, and suddenly she could see everything within five kilometres, ten kilometres, in stark detail. She could count the veins in a fly's wings, the grains of sand caught in a young boy's eyelashes, and the brambles on a half-dead bush. Taking all of that power and containing it in her palms was no easy feat.

Concentrating on the task at hand, she quickly located the main chakra points in her shoulders, elbows and palms. She felt her chakra boiling in her stomach, and forced it into her chest, then to her shoulders, where she allowed it to sit while she adjusted to the new redirecting process. Then, she sent it to her elbows. They tingled like electricity was crawling beneath the surface of her skin. She shivered a little with the sensation, then forced the chakra to continue down to her palms.

It fought her every step of the way. She felt like she was trying to contain a balloon in a jewellery box: every time she managed to squeeze one part in, another would break loose.

But finally, gasping, sweat falling into her eyes, she managed it. It roiled like an angered beast, but she had succeeded in containing it.

Then came the hard part. Using her Byakugan to guide her, Hinata sent a concentrated amount of chakra to each of the tenketsu in her fingertips. The effort had her panting and it took all of her focus to achieve it. But finally, after what seemed an eternity, she did.

Her hands tingled with chakra. She closed her eyes and carefully, so as to not upset the fragile chakra in her hands, moulded the chakra in her right index finger into the shape of a lion.

It was an arduous process, as such a powerful jutsu demanded to be big. But she forced it to remain within the confines of her fingers, sending a slow stream of chakra towards it so as to charge it, and finally, eventually, she had it. A Twin Step Lion Fist contained within her index finger. Hinata refused to allow herself to feel elated until she could throw it. She wasn't sure how to do that exactly, but figured she'd best start with the most obvious method.

She sent a sudden surge of chakra to her index finger and forced the lion from the digit, powering it so that it may last for an extended period of time without a source and directing its trajectory with a point of her finger.

She couldn't help but feel ecstatic when the senbon-sized lion managed to go a full five feet before it fizzled out. She had done it! A jutsu she had theorized over for months had finally come to fruition! She could officially throw a miniature Twin Step Lion Fist from her fingertips, a jutsu she knew that none in her Clan had ever accomplished.

She stood there a moment, revelling in her triumph. Her ultimate goal was, of course, to be able to shoot the jutsu from all ten of her fingers and have them travel a much farther distance, but this was a start, at the very least. Now that she knew it could be done, she could start working to improve it.

The full weight of her exhaustion hit her at that moment, and she nonchalantly realised that it was nearing sunset. She'd been out training for hours and hadn't even realised! Her stomach rumbled, voicing just how ravenous she felt, and her throat felt like parchment. She took a swig of water from her water-bottle and, still grinning a Cheshire grin, began the trek back to the Tower.

* * *

Her mood didn't last long, however.

As soon as she entered the Tower living room, a melancholy air assailed her, and she blinked in shock as she looked around her.

"What has happened?" she asked. The three Sand Siblings were there, all in various poses suggesting sadness, frustration, anger, helplessness, and other emotions Hinata couldn't quite identify. "Has Hinari…?"

"Hirari's dead," said Temari, not deigning to look at Hinata. "Her mother found her in her bedroom this morning. Hinari gouged her eyes out and carved _freak_ into her chest."

Hinata felt sick, and collapsed into the nearest chair.

"That's not all," Temari continued. "She left another parcel for you."

Hinata looked up, feeling dread settle in the pit of her stomach. "W… what?"

Temari still refused to look at her as she continued. "She left it on your bed. Your window was open. She must have climbed in."

Hinata felt sick. Hinari was slowly invading every single place she felt safe. She wouldn't be able to sleep in her room again. "What was in it?" she asked with trepidation, the desire to know and the fear of knowing clashing in her chest.

"His nose," Kankuro interrupted, and Hinata didn't miss the grateful way Temari looked at him. "The note said 'I can smell you'. It was foul, Hinata. It's all at the lab already. You don't need to see that."

Hinata didn't even want to protest. She didn't want to see it. She didn't want to envision Ko, her longest friend, ally, and confidant, being slowly dissected, piece by piece. It made her sick that there was nothing she could do about it. There was nothing she could do to save him.

All of her hard work that day seemed so insignificant against the might of Hinari. What was the point of perfecting a new jutsu if she couldn't save any of the people she'd lost?

"I think she must have gotten to the members of my Clan that my father sent to me. They haven't arrived yet. They were supposed to be here yesterday."

"You should tell your father that," said Gaara, finally speaking up.

She nodded, and wrote a short letter to her father. She would send it in the morning on her way to class.

Without another word said between any of them, they all eventually drifted off to their own separate rooms. Hinata didn't even bother to ask Gaara if she could stay in his room from then on, and his lack of a response when she followed him told her that he didn't mind.

* * *

Mami wasn't at the hospital the next day, though no one expected her to be. Hinata left a small flower on her desk, not knowing what other kind of gesture she could do to comfort the woman and not knowing whether she would ever see it either.

When class finished, Nise approached Hinata. She was pale, her eyes wide with sparks of fear lighting up the electric blue.

"Is it true?" she asked, her voice wavering. "Hirari's dead? Hinari killed her?"

Hinata closed her eyes and looked away. She didn't have the heart to speak, though her actions affirmed the question.

She heard Nise sob, the noise full of dread. "What did she do to her?" the girl asked, and Hinata turned to see that Nise had stepped back to sit on top of a table, her knuckles white where they held on to the edges.

Hinata could feel a lump form in her throat. "Gouged out her eyes and… and carved the word _freak_ into her chest."

Nise's shoulders were shaking and she was looking at the floor, her face having gone, if possible, and even starker shade of white.

"You know what this means, right?" she said, her voice so quiet Hinata could barely hear her. She answered her own question without waiting for a reply. "I'm next. I'm the last orphan under the age of seventeen in this whole village. She's going to kill me next."

Hinata didn't know what to say to comfort the girl. She rarely showed any form of vulnerability, and despised being consoled even more. And if Hinata was honest with herself, she had a point. Hinari had killed every other orphan she could have possibly come into contact with. Nise was the last one.

Hinata didn't want to make false promises. She wasn't going to make some grandiose proclamation that she would stop Hinari at all costs. Because she didn't know if she could. And Nise knew that as well.

So instead she sat next to her friend and offered her some quiet comfort. It was all she had to give.

* * *

**Three Weeks Later**

* * *

The days bled into weeks, and Hinata felt disoriented by the passing time. The fourth exam for her class was held, and miraculously everyone passed. She would have felt proud if she didn't feel numb.

Nise retreated into herself. She refused almost all contact with Hinata, and when questioned, replied with a simple "I'm waiting to die." Hinata couldn't tell if she was being melodramatic or not, but decided to leave her in peace anyway. If Nise wanted Hinata's company, she was welcome to ask for it.

The final two packages had been delivered by Hinari, one on her desk at the hospital and the other in the living room of the Tower. The first had contained Ko's tongue, with the words _I can taste you_ scrawled onto a note. The second held both of his hands, and a note saying _I can touch you_. Hinata couldn't count the tears she'd shed over them.

She had taken to sharing Gaara's bed of a night-time. It was the only place in all of Suna that she felt safe. Hinari hadn't touched her there. Hinari hadn't poisoned that place (yet). It was the only place she found some semblance of peace.

The first thing to spark something akin to life within her was a letter left for her by her father one Wednesday night. As was typical, the letter was short, relegated to only a few small sentences.

_Hinata,_

_As is required, I have sent five elite Hyuuga to Suna to guard you, all handpicked by myself. They are at your disposal to use against Hinari._

_\- Hiashi._

Hinata desperately wanted to believe that five elite Hyuuga would be able to break through to Suna when so many others had not, yet she couldn't hold out much hope of that happening. Hinari seemed like such an unstoppable force. What was anyone but fodder against her?

When she told Gaara of her Clansmen's potential arrival, she could see him grappling with the right words to reassure her. He couldn't find any, and she was somehow not surprised.

The following day came and went, and her brethren didn't arrive. She felt disgusted in herself that she had never expected them to. Maybe she was getting used to Hinari's carnage? She hated that she was, and yet knew that if she allowed herself to get her hopes up every time, only for them to be dashed, she would go mad. It was better that she feel nothing but resignation. For her and for everyone else.

She spent all of Friday hoping that they would arrive at her classroom door, just as Ko had all that time ago, yet expected nothing. She was still disappointed when they didn't arrive.

Kankuro came by to take her home when the day was over. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and he was looking at his shoes as he walked next to her, his posture slouched, face sombre. Hinata felt that she probably didn't look much different, though her arms were folded in front of her chest instead.

"You okay, Hinata?" Kankuro finally said when the silence became more unbearable than noise.

She thought for a moment. "Not really," she eventually conceded. "I think Hinari got to the men my father sent. I'm tired of people dying for me. I just wish it would stop. That she would stop."

He gave a slight nod of his head. "She can't keep hiding forever. We'll get her eventually."

Hinata looked at him for a moment. "But how many more people need to die before that? I think she's made it obvious that she won't stop until either she's dead or everyone else is."

He shook his head. "I don't know, Hinata-chan. I just don't know."

Neither of them could think of anything to continue the conversation. Hinata didn't want to think. Thinking was too painful. It led to remembering and feelings and emotions that she just couldn't afford to have. It led to attachments and Kami, what if Hinari killed those few people she was still attached to?

They rounded a final bend in the street before the Tower was in view, and Hinata stopped dead, everything flooding back to her, shocking her out of her paralysed state.

Hinari had dumped the dead bodies of all five Hyuuga at her doorstep. They were piled one on top of the other, their eyes wide and unseeing and lifeless. The usual guards that normally stood either side of the doorway were each pinned against the Tower in a standing position with a kunai through the head.

Hinata could feel her stomach plummet and her chest constrict, though no more tears came out. She must have run out. It was the only explanation. She knew the faces of all five Hyuuga, had grown up around them, had trained with them or talked to them. She knew that three of them had families, and Gods, how could she tell them that they had been slaughtered? How could she look their children in the eyes and tell them that their mother or father would never come home because they'd died for her? How could she lead them?

She could feel her stomach drop and her chest constrict, and for a moment she forgot to breathe. She was shaking, she knew, and she'd lost all feeling in her legs.

She staggered forward, arms stretched out in front of her for… for what? For balance? For a reassuring touch that her kin might not actually be dead?

It was her fault. Their deaths were on her. If she had never taken this _stupid _mission then they would be alive. Ko would be alive. The Monks would be alive. All of those orphans, Hirari, Hoheto, Tokuma, Iroha, everyone would still be _alive._ She had come to Suna and somehow that had fucked everything up. Now so many people were dead, it made her head spin.

As she approached, she could see that Hinari had left another message scrawled in blood on the Tower door.

_That was fun,_ it said, and she felt a shudder crawl up her spine. She lent away and vomited.

Kankuro had followed her, looking devastated at the seven bodies. She could see by his gaping mouth that he didn't quite know what to say.

Hinata could barely think clearly, but a moment of rationality stumbled from her mouth.

"G… get Temari," she croaked at him, wiping vomit from the side of her mouth with her sleeve. "We n… need to investigate this before the b… bodies have a chance to… to rot. We need evidence. We need to find Hinari."

Kankuro nodded and ran to find her while Hinata sunk to her knees.

* * *

Saturday passed in a blur. She couldn't remember a thing that happened, apart from the fact that she went to the hospital. And she only knew that because she'd been going to the hospital every Saturday for the past five months.

She could see their lifeless faces light up behind her eyelids every time they closed. It had shocked her out of her temporary numbness, but she wasn't quite certain what it had projected her into. There was emotion there, but she couldn't identify it. There was too much apprehension for it to be a sense of purpose, and too much fear for it to be confidence. Contradiction swirled around in her head, pulling her in multiple directions and confusing her even more.

Nise finally came to her on Sunday, with possibly the last thing Hinata thought she would say.

Her skin looked sickly in its translucence, her lips were pale and her eyes bruised. Hinata had watched the girl slowly deteriorate with anxiety over the last few weeks, and hated how little she could do about it.

Though for the first time in a long time, there was a hint of determination in her eyes.

"Nise, is -" she began, though Nise quickly interrupted her, the words spilling from her mouth as if she couldn't get them out fast enough.

"I think I've found where Hinari has been living."

* * *

**Welp. There's that. I can't say it enough how sorry I am for taking so long to update. But thank you so so much to those who reviewed, it kept me going and kept me writing when I was too tired to see straight or too stressed to stay still, so thank you thank you thank you.**

**Please leave me a review, they honestly give me inspiration to write when I've otherwise lost it. If you favourite, I'd love to hear from you.**

**Much love, Alia xoxo**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, uni has been piling on the work load so I've had pretty much 0 time to work on this. But thank you so much to everyone for your support, it means the absolute world to me. I couldn't ask for more. To the lovely reviewer **_**howdy-doody**_**, I'm so sorry, I accidently skipped past your review as I was writing my thank-yous last chapter, but I've edited last chapter and my reply to you is there now. I hope you see this, your review was so lovely, it made me smile :)**

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* * *

**.:{*}:.**

**Chapter 18**

**.:{*}:.**

* * *

It took Hinata few moments to recover from shock. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that sudden, unexpected piece of news. Elation? Fear? Curiosity?

Though her emotions rampaged inside her, one question continuously circled back to the forefront of her mind.

"How you could possibly know that, Nise?" she asked, feeling the first stirrings of suspicion creeping up on her. Temari and countless others had spent months trying to find even a scrap of where Hinari could be, and had found nothing. But somehow Nise had found it? Hinata couldn't quite believe it.

The girl furrowed her brows, and whether she wasn't sure how to answer the question or what words to use, Hinata couldn't tell.

"I… I don't know," she eventually said, looking frustrated with herself. "I've been having these… dreams, I guess, of this weird place. They'll just flash in my head and… I don't know. I figured that because I'm probably going to die anyway that I may as well go and check it out. So I did and this place – well, the entrance, anyway – was real. I wanted to come and find you before I did anything else. We could get a team together, go check it out."

Hinata was incredibly apprehensive about the whole situation. Nise may be intelligent, but she was only fourteen, and just one person. Temari was older, wiser, and had an entire team of elite ninja at her disposal. It didn't make sense that Nise would be able to find something on Hinari before her team.

Unless…

Was it possible that Nise was caught up in everything? That Nise had something to do with it all? Hinata didn't want to believe it. Hinari had even attacked Nise! The girl had barely escaped with her life.

Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan, looking for signs of Genjutsu or a cloning technique. She could see Nise looking at her, wide-eyed with worry, but there were no disturbances that she could see in the girl's chakra. There was nothing there to indicate that this was anyone other than Nise. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan.

"Is everything okay, Hinata?" she asked, taking a step towards her.

Hinata immediately took a step back, still wary. "Fine," she answered, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Where do you think this place is?"

Nise allowed herself to look hurt for a moment before erasing all emotions from her face. "At the Wind Temple. I went back there and there was a door and -"

"Nise, that's impossible," said Hinata, quickly cutting her off. "After what happened to the Monks there was an investigation squad there for weeks. They would have found anything abnormal, and the Hyuuga that were there would have found a room with their Byakugan."

Hinata watched as Nise grew pale, and she looked almost… desperate? "I… I know it seems weird, Hinata," she said, her voice sounded uncertain and vulnerable, "but… but just trust me on this. Please. I know it's weird. I _know,_ Hinata. But I know that this is where Hinari has been hiding. Or at least someplace she's been. Please trust me."

Hinata narrowed her eyes, not quite sure what to believe. But Nise was her friend. Surely she wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone? "Okay," Hinata eventually said, not quite able to get suspicion out of her tone. "I'll get a group of people together."

Nise didn't even try to hide her relief. "Thank you," she said, her voice a sigh.

Hinata looked at her closely. "I'll meet you at the Suna entrance in an hour." She couldn't shake the churning feeling in her gut that something was wrong.

* * *

Temari was initially sceptical when Hinata told her what had happened.

"The Wind Temple?" she asked, sounding almost offended when Hinata had finished recounting her story. "We combed that place for weeks, Hinata. Do you honestly think we could've missed something?"

Hinata didn't blame her scepticism in the least. She wasn't exactly feeling confident with Nise's claims herself. "I doubt what Nise's saying more than I doubt you, Temari-san," she said truthfully. "But it's the only lead we have. The worst that could happen is that there's no truth to this. We don't have anything to lose by going and having a look."

Temari looked thoughtful. "Do you trust this Nise?" she eventually asked, fixing Hinata with intent eyes.

Hinata wasn't entirely sure. Not anymore. "I… I think so," she eventually said, and Temari didn't look the slightest bit convinced.

Eventually, she sighed and said: "Fine. It's the only lead we've got. I have nothing to lose here. I'll get a team together."

* * *

The team was small, consisting of five people, including Temari. They met Nise and Hinata at the front gates, then took off running towards the Wind Temple with little said between them.

It only took them twenty minutes to reach the Temple, and Hinata was surprised by how different it looked. Discounting the slaughtered Monks, the Temple had – at the time – been well kept, the front gardens pristine and hardly a speck of dust or sand had marred the steps.

Now, the place looked dishevelled. The few plants that had survived had festered and spilled in knotted messes onto the ground; sand had claimed the steps and chips of stone had begun to crumble away. It was a sorry sight indeed compared to the elegant structure that had stood in its place only a few short months prior.

Nise led the way up the steps, looking paranoid and skittish. Her eyes constantly darted about her at the slighted whisper of unexpected noise, and her hands were nervously entwined in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked, speeding up to walk beside the girl.

She shook her head. "What if _she_ comes here?" she whispered. "What if she finds us? I'm terrified, Hinata."

Hinata could think of nothing to comfort her, as the same worry had plagued her the whole journey. What would she do if she were confronted by Hinari? Could she defeat her?

They entered the Temple and Hinata activated her Byakugan. Apart from her group and a few bugs and small animals, the place was deserted. Nise led them towards the back of the main entrance where a staircase spiralled down into the nether of the Temple. Two of Temari's group pulled out torches from their bags and, slowly, they descended.

"We already searched every level of the Temple," Temari said as they passed landing after landing. "There's nothing down here."

Hinata had to agree with Temari. Through her Byakugan she could see every square inch of the Temple, and she could see nothing that would indicate that Hinari had been there.

"Please just trust me," said Nise, her voice unusually quiet.

They continued to descend, and Hinata began to feel dizzy with each spiral of the staircase. But after what felt to be aeons, they finally reached the bottom floor.

"There's nothing here," said Hinata. The landing was a small, rectangular room, devoid of any furnishings. The walls were made of cement and the floor of flagstones. Hinata couldn't see anything beyond either.

"There is," said Nise, and she walked towards what appeared to be a loose flagstone. "Hinata, is there anything your Byakugan _can't_ see through?"

Hinata thought for a moment. "I don't think so," she eventually said, though she sounded unsure. "But I suppose that if something were dense enough then my Byakugan wouldn't be able to penetrate it*."

Nise looked thoughtful for a moment, before she lifted up the flagstone. "What about this?

Hinata walked over, more confused with each step. There was definitely something there, but she couldn't see past it. It appeared to be metal, but why would there be metal beneath the flagstones?

Temari joined the two, and knelt down to get a better look at the metal. "What can you see, Hinata?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the floor.

Hinata strained her eyes as much as possible, pumped all the chakra she could into her Byakugan, but the metal appeared as a haze in front of her. "I… I can see anything," she eventually said, and deactivated her Kekkei Genkai. The strain had given her a headache. "What _is_ that?" she asked, and knelt down next to Temari. The metal was smooth and cool to the touch.

Temari took a while to answer. "Platinum," she eventually declared, her voice confident. "It's one of the most dense metals in the world. I'm not surprised you can't see through it." She knocked on the metal, and a hollow echo reverberated back at her. "There's something underneath here. Is there a way to open this?" She looked at Nise, questions in her eyes.

The girl nodded and quietly walked around to stand next to Temari. "This stone here is a handle," she said. "It took me ages to figure it out. It's a trap door."

Together, she and Temari hefted the metal door open. A thin ladder descended into the dark depths, and, taking a torch, Temari entered first. Nise followed shortly afterwards, then Hinata and the other shinobi.

The bars of the ladder were cool to the touch, and the air felt dank and musty on her tongue. There was a peculiar metallic smell in the air, but she wasn't sure whether that was the platinum or not.

Suddenly, a light flickered on, and Hinata figured that Temari had reached the bottom and found a light switch. She continued climbing down and soon came to the floor.

The room was a small, square pocket made entirely of platinum, and the stark light blinded her as it bounced off the walls.

But as her eyes adjusted, she felt herself wanting to be sick.

It was mostly bare. In the middle of the room were two sets of heavy chains with handcuffs at the end. She had seen top prisoners in Konoha bound in chains like that: kneeling on the floor, arms restrained on either side of them, the bindings too short and too far away from each other to allow for standing or walking. When she looked a little beyond the chains, she saw two more cuffs half hammered into the ground, and figured that that's where Hinari's feet were restrained.

Near the chains was a surgeons table: she had seen one enough times at the hospital to recognise it instantly. This one had bindings fitted to where a person's head, stomach, hands, and feet would rest. Next to it was a small table with a tray on it, laden with surgical tools.

But these things weren't what drew her eye.

Etched into every single surface, Hinari had scratched in four words, presumably with her fingernails as occasionally there was a smear of old blood. Hinata realised that old blood was the strange metallic smell.

_You Are A Freak,_ it read, the words surrounding her on every single side, a chorus whispering in the echoes. And for the first time, Hinata felt sorry for Hinari. No wonder she was mad. Being locked up here, in this room, unable to see the outside world, Hinata felt it would send anyone insane. Hinata staggered towards the chains on the floor. They were excruciatingly heavy, made of solid iron. Lining the cuffs like rust was dried blood. She swallowed back bile and left them on the floor.

"I think she was experimented on," Temari called, and Hinata turned to see her standing near the surgeons table. She was examining the tools on the tray. "These all look like they've been used. Kami, what _happened_ down here?"

Everyone was silent. Pain clung to the words on the walls like mould.

"Hinata?" Nise's uncertain voice came from a corner in the room, the echo bounced off the metal walls. "Come here, I think I've found something."

Hinata walked over, and pretended she didn't see a fingernail stuck in the metal. "What is it?" she asked, her voice a whisper, though the echo still picked it up.

"A… I don't know. A letter, I think."

The torn sheet of paper had been pinned into the wall. Hinata would recognise the handwriting anywhere, but forced herself to read it.

_You are not mine.  
You are unnatural.  
You are not welcome.  
You are a freak._

_Thank you daddy._

Hinata couldn't make sense of any of it, but she knew she had to get out of the room before she vomited.

"I… I have to go," she muttered, holding back bile. Nise nodded and followed her as she climbed back up the ladder. Hinata couldn't leave fast enough.

* * *

They made it back to Konoha just as the sun was beginning to set. Hinata couldn't help the tremor in her hands, and her stomach still felt ill. She turned to Temari, who looked as bad as she felt. "I… I need to sleep," she stammered, the words fumbling off her tongue. "I feel foul. I just… I have to go."

Temari nodded her understanding. "I'll be there soon. I have to organise proper investigation at the Temple. I hope something there will lead us to Hinari. It's the biggest lead we've had yet."

Hinata nodded and made her way back to the Tower.

She walked inside, past the living room and started for the stairs before a voice called her back.

A voice she had certainly _not _expected to hear in Suna.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" came an unmistakably boisterous voice.

Hinata froze. She could feel her stomach doing somersaults and her urge to puke was stronger than ever. "N… Naruto?" she asked, disbelief pouring from her tone. She couldn't believe what was happening. Naruto, of all people, had arrived in Suna. Kami, why? Why did it have to be right then? "Wh… what are you doing here?" Her voice was shaky, and she wasn't quite sure whether he was a hallucination or not. She wanted to touch him to make sure, though her hands stayed stubbornly glued to her sides.

"Well, y'know…" he said, his hand scratching the back of his head while a sheepish grin made its way on to his mouth. "I kinda… found that letter you sent Hanabi." He sounded almost apologetic, while Hinata's stomach dropped into the soles of her feet. "Look, Hinata, I'm real sorry. I know I shouldn't have, but it was just lying there and I read it and I wanted to make sure that what you said was true… when you said you loved me. Like, is that why you had to come here? 'Cos I didn't know, swear I didn't."

Hinata was barely breathing. Kami, no, please Gods no. "N-Naruto, it's okay, I'm -"

He looked troubled at her words. "No, see, it's not okay. That was a real shitty thing for Hanabi to do, and I want to make it right. So I came here to see if you'd go on a date with me."

She could feel the blood drain from her face, and had to force herself to not faint.

"I… I don't think that… it's not really…" she was fumbling to tell him the right words. Here Naruto was, standing in front of her, saying the words that she had always yearned to hear him say, and she only wanted to tell him no. Too much had changed, too much was happening – she couldn't handle that right now. "I… I have to go," she eventually managed to stutter, before she fled into the Tower.

She shouldn't have been surprised when Gaara found her. Yet it surprised her anyway. His face was unreadable, and she wasn't sure if he knew what Naruto's purpose was in coming to Suna was. She hoped he didn't know.

But he knew. Of course he knew.

"What did you say?" he asked, and she wished, not for the first time, that she could tell how he was feeling. But his face was like stone, and she doubted that even her Byakugan would reveal what he was feeling.

She hesitated in her reply. "I didn't answer him," she said, not quite able to meet his eyes.

"Why not?" he asked, and she forced her tears back. She was too emotional after everything that had happened at the Temple. She couldn't handle the situation with Naruto too.

"It's just… it's too much," she said, trying to make her voice strong though it insisted upon fumbling. "I don't think… I… I don't know," she finished lamely.

He was silent for a moment, seeming to ponder what was happening. "You should go with him," he eventually told her, his tone resolute. There was no hesitation in his words, no regret, and she couldn't help but feel hurt. Shocked, even.

"Why?" she blurted out, unable to help herself. Why would he say that? Didn't he care for her? Had the past few months meant nothing to him?

He took a moment to answer her, and it unnerved her that she couldn't read a single thing he was thinking. "Because he is good for you," he eventually said, his voice completely emotionless.

She was dumbfounded. Her mouth was hanging comically open, and Gods, why was he saying that? "And you're not good for me?" she challenged, though her voice was weak. "Why would you think that?"

His eyes narrowed, and for a moment she felt something akin to fear stir in her belly.

"He deserves this, Hinata. Everything that he is, everything that he does, he deserves this chance from you. You loved him for _years._ You think that that could have all just disappeared in a few _months_? He is my best friend. I owe him everything. Especially happiness. If he can find that with you then I owe that to him."

Despite her shock and exhaustion, Hinata could feel the first stirrings of anger welling up inside her. "And what about what I want?" she demanded. "I don't want Naruto. Not anymore. I thought I loved him once, but I knew nothing about love then. I want you. I want to be here with you."

"But I can't give you anything, Hinata!" he said, and she was glad to finally hear a piece of irritation in his voice. "There is nothing here that I can offer you! You deserve to be happy and I can't give that to you!"

"And how would you know that?" she asked him. "How would you know whether you make me happy or not? Because I know. I know that when I'm with you, Naruto doesn't even cross my mind. I know that when I'm with you, I don't want to be anywhere else. And it's okay if you don't feel that way about me. But don't think that you don't make me happy."

He turned away, made as if he was going to leave, but stopped himself before he could move any further. "You deserve to be happy, Hinata. And so does he. And I can't give that to you. I can't give that to either of you, so the least I can do is this."

He started to walk away, but she called out to him, her voice soft, tired, pleading almost. "But don't you deserve happiness too?"

He paused for a moment, his face half turned towards her, his expression once again blank. "No." The word was short and concise, without apology or explanation, and Hinata didn't doubt for a moment that that's what he believed.

* * *

Hinata didn't see Gaara again until Wednesday night. She, Gaara, Naruto, Temari, Kankuro and a few others she didn't know had gathered in the Tower living room. Temari and Gaara were going through some (apparently) important documents, Naruto and Kankuro were loudly swapping stories regarding what they had encountered since the last time they had met, and Hinata was curled up on a couch, going over the end of month exam that her students would be sitting in only two days.

Except she couldn't concentrate. She was still deeply upset from what Gaara had said to her, and if she was honest with herself, she was trying to find a good reason to not go out with Naruto, if for no other reason than to spite him. Maybe if he saw her being happy with someone else then that would make him realise that he cared about her

But Gods, Gaara was so pig-headed. If he thought she enjoyed her night with Naruto, then that would make him think he had been right to insist upon the date, and she didn't know if she could handle that.

While wrestling with her inner turmoil, she failed to notice Naruto walk up to her, and jumped about a foot in the air when she realised he was standing right in front of her, giving almost no regard for the concept of personal space.

"Hey Hinata-chan," he said, a nervous grin plastered on his face. "So… about that date I mentioned the other day… did you wanna go now? I'm so hungry, you could show me where all the good ramen stands are!"

Hinata could barely form a coherent thought with which to reply. The room had fallen into a heavy silence, one so thick she felt she could barely breathe. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room staring at her, waiting for her to answer. However, she couldn't take her eyes off Naruto, his cheeky, earnest smile, and bright blue child-like eyes.

From the corner of her eye she could see a glint of teal appear in Gaara's peripherals, trying to pretend that he wasn't watching her and Naruto. She didn't need her Byakugan to tell her that he was waiting for her answer – his rigid posture, shoulders so tense they were shaking, told her all she needed to know.

And so, gathering her courage, she managed to give Naruto a warm, kind smile, and said: "I'd love to, Naruto-kun." She stood up, pretending her body wasn't stiff with stress, and went to retrieve her coat. "Maybe we could both go searching for a ramen stand? I haven't really had any ramen here."

Naruto let out what could be deciphered as a strangled gasp of horror and shock. "Hinata-chan," he admonished, sounding comically disappointed. "We need to get ramen right away! How can anyone live without it?"

Before she could say anything in reply, he'd grabbed her hand in a firm grip and whisked her out of the Tower.

* * *

Hinata was… she hated to say it, but she was _bored._ She cared about Naruto, that would never end. He was an incredible person, and she loved him as a friend would love another friend, but he was just… just so completely her opposite in every way, she found it difficult to engage with him.

He didn't stop talking. He would occasionally ask her a question, then barely let her make a noise before he answered it for her, and continue on before she knew what he was talking about. She felt dizzy, and not the good kind. She was fascinated by his mouth – he had perfected the art of eating and talking at the same time, and the Hyuuga in her cringed every time he did that.

"So y'know that teme left Konoha again, yeah? Wait, no you wouldn't know, you've been here!"

She forced back the memory of Ko telling her that Sasuke had once again left the village, and politely continued to listen.

"Anyway, yeah, the stupid bastard left again. Fucking idiot. Sakura was so upset, he doesn't think about anyone except himself. Bet he was just trying to get away from me cos, y'know, I'd actually challenged him to a spar because we were even with our last spar. Tied on forty-seven, and then the bastard just left before I could prove to him that I'm stronger. Bet he was just scared because he knew I'd win. And yeah, Sakura was real upset about it. He's always going away that bastard. She really misses you, y'know? After you left she punched me in the face and wouldn't even heal me! She nearly broke my nose! Had no idea why at the time but I guess I do now, huh? Oh! And the Elders have agreed that I'll be Hokage after Kakashi-sensei retires, isn't that awesome? I'll be the seventh Hokage of Konoha, I'm so excited. I heard that they were thinking about putting Sasuke on for a while, because they reckon he's smarter than me, but he's so stupid and he's always leaving the village and shit, so they went with the best option which was me! Kakashi's telling me all about the paperwork you have to do when you're Hokage, but I'll make Sasuke do that when I'm Hokage, or I'll just get rid of it. Nah, might make Sasuke do it, that'll be funny, can you imagine his face…"

Hinata was in a bit of awe. He just didn't stop talking. She wondered how he managed to keep it up, he'd been going for over an hour and didn't look even remotely ready to stop. She was exhausted just watching him! He'd already managed to wolf down six bowls of ramen while she was still on her first. She was honestly waiting for him to choke on something.

She thought about telling his about Hinari. Would that be a wise decision? Naruto's power would be invaluable, he and Sasuke being the two most powerful living ninjas she'd ever met, but could she live with endangering him like that? He was still one of her friends, and someone she cared about deeply. That would never change. And so many people had already died because of Hinari. She didn't doubt that Naruto could best her in a fight, but at what cost? She had no idea what kind of power Hinari truly possessed. Could she live with putting Naruto in danger too? She knew that if she asked he would say yes. Of course he would. He was just that kind of person. He would try and take the horizon if she asked him to.

No, she couldn't ask him. Hinari was a Hyuuga matter. She was a Hyuuga mess. And she couldn't ask Naruto to risk himself for her. Not after everything they'd been through.

She finished her bowl and let out a slightly (very) exaggerated yawn. Luckily Naruto noticed, because she didn't want to do it again.

"… and Tenten's thinking about opening up her own weapons shop, she's going to make it the biggest in all of – are you tired Hinata-chan?"

"Yes," she said quickly, jumping at the chance to get a word in. "I mean, it's -"

"Of course you are, it's so late and you have to work tomorrow!" he interjected, quickly pulling out his old frog-shaped wallet and paying the vendor. "Let's go. I don't know how you get up so early each morning and go to teach a classroom of kids. I'd go crazy. But you're so calm, Hinata-chan. I always liked that about you. Kami it gets cold here, doesn't it? You'd think it'd be hot because it's the _desert,_ but geeze, night time is _freezing_!"

She smiled as she walked next to him. It hadn't been a bad date. And she still cared about Naruto. But the date had strengthened her resolve: Naruto wasn't right for her. He was exhausting. She needed someone who would let her get a word in every now and then. Someone who could listen as well as talk, and could sense the right time to do that.

They made it back to the Tower, and Naruto somehow managed to stem his tide of words as they reached the door.

Hinata struggled for something to say. "I… I had a nice time," she said, and the words weren't really a lie.

"Yeah, me too," he said, a Cheshire grin on his face. "Did you want to go out again tomorrow night?"

She forced herself to not wince. She could really only take Naruto in small doses. Two nights in a row would be far too much. "Naruto, you're… you're a great person, and an even better friend. But… well… I've changed. I've grown here. Back in Konoha I thought I loved you. I'd convinced myself I did. But a lot has happened here in Suna, and it's changed me. It's changed how I feel. I don't love you. And I realised a little while ago that I never really did."

He chuckled, and scratched the back of his head with his hand. "We're pretty different, huh?"

She managed to smile, and nodded in agreement. "Very different," she concurred.

He held out his hand and she shook it. "Thanks for giving me a chance after I fucked up so bad," he said, humour in his voice. "Still friends though, right?"

"Of course!" she didn't need to think twice about that. Before she knew what was happening, she was enveloped in a bone-breaking bear hug, and she managed to free her arms enough to hug him back.

* * *

Once inside, Hinata passed the room she'd been staying in since Sunday and walked to Gaara's room. It was bold of her, but her date with Naruto had left her feeling a little lighter. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Naruto was now a chapter she could close. His confusing place in her life had been resolved, and she finally knew exactly where she stood with him: a good friend, nothing more, nothing less.

She was strangely at peace with it. And that made her happy.

She found Gaara's room and opened a crack in the door. He was already in bed she could see, the moonlight from a porthole window spilled onto his hair in a crimson halo. She slipped inside the room and crawled under the covers, wrapping her arms around his waist.

She knew he had woken the instant she stepped foot inside his room, but she didn't care. Maybe he would finally accept how she felt about him. Maybe he would accept how he felt about her.

"How was your date?" he asked, not moving, his voice controlled.

"It was okay," she said, not deigning to lie.

"Will you have another?"

She shook her head. "No."

He let out a breath, though he tried to hide it. "Why?"

She smiled a small smile into his shoulder blades. "Because Naruto doesn't make me happy."

He didn't react at all. "How could you know? It was one date."

She shrugged. "He doesn't make me feel how you make me feel. You make me happy."

And finally, he didn't fight her on it. Instead, he took her hand where it was draped over his waist and fell back asleep, his even breaths lulling her into her own eventual oblivion.

* * *

Naruto left early the next morning. Hinata saw him off before she left for the hospital, and they parted on friendly terms. She was glad for it – despite everything, she never wanted to lose her friendship with Naruto.

"You didn't tell him about Hinari?" Gaara asked after he'd left and they walked towards the hospital.

She shrugged. "Should I have? Hinari is my responsibility. Too many have been lost to her already. I couldn't live with myself if I intentionally risked Naruto too. He doesn't deserve that."

She was surprised when he agreed with her, saying he felt the same. Hinari had brains and brawn, which made her incredibly dangerous. She would play with Naruto; try to outwit him before killing him.

"How do you think he managed to get into Konoha without Hinari trying to stop him?" Gaara asked, the question one that had been plaguing Hinata too.

"I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's because he's so powerful, Hinari didn't want to engage him without first being confident that she could best him. Or maybe it's because he gave no warning of his arrival. Everyone else who came here told us that they were coming first. Maybe Hinari found out about their arrivals somehow and was able to get to them that way. I really don't know."

They parted in silence at the hospital, though Hinata didn't miss how his fingers brushed hers ever so lightly before he turned and left.

Feeling a little giddy at the affection, Hinata walked into the hospital, mentally going over everything that her students would need. Their end of month exam was the following day, and she hoped that they felt prepared. It was a difficult exam, the one that she had prepared. The hardest yet. They'd spent the last couple of days revising everything that they had done in the last few months, and she was worried about a few of them. Not Nise, of course. She was bound to pass with flying colours.

"Okay everyone," she said, entering the classroom. "Please get out your books, we're going to pick up where we left off yesterday."

She struggled to get her bag over her head, as it was rammed to the brim with textbooks, and so didn't notice that someone was already in her seat.

Not until they spoke.

"Hey Hinata," she said, and Hinata almost fell over in shock, her bag finally coming loose and falling so heavily to the ground she swore she could feel it shake.

She looked up, only to see rivulets of raven-black hair and eyes the colour of smoke, cradled in a creamy face similar to hers, though it a few years younger.

Her heart missed a beat in her chest, and her throat closed tight, the girls name on the tip of her tongue though she couldn't quite choke it out.

* * *

**I just know how much you guys love cliff hangers, so I decided to give you one ;) Honestly, thank you so so so much for your love and patience, I couldn't be more grateful if I tried. Uni is over in a few weeks, so I'm going to do everything in my power to give you more regular updates as soon as it's over.**

**Gods this was a monster of a chapter to write. I hope the length can at least give you a small indication of how grateful I am for your patience. I wanted to make it extra long to say thank you. Speaking of chapters, this story is set to have 21. Not much longer now!**

*** Chapters 186 and 188 of the Manga insinuate that there are some things that can distort or block the Byakugan's ability to see certain things. While it never explicitly states **_**what**_** can do this, I'm taking artistic license with the idea that certain dense metals and seals can have this effect.**

**Thank you for reading, and if you favourite please leave a review. They're more appreciated than you could possibly realise and are honestly the best kind of motivation.**

**Much love, Alia xoxoxo**


	19. Chapter 19

**Uni is over for the yeeaaaarrrrr! I feel like singing, is that weird? Also, statistics are a stinking pile of shit. Especially when you have to do an assignment on them. An assignment that takes you over THIRTY FREAKING HOURS. But I'm okay. Now. Thank you so much everyone for your patience, I swear I got this out as soon as I was able. Feelin' that writers block. Inspiration and motivation never hit when I actually have time to write! Talking about inspiration and motivation, I did a stupid and started another story. If y'all like my writing, you could do that thing and like, check it out, and review, and stuff. Would warm my little writers heart :3 Also, got a new laptop. This one has a keyboard that works! Weeeeeee! But that $500 though… makes my insides quiver just thinking about it. Do you know how much food $500 buys? Like, a lot. Okay, sorry, I'm rambling. Story now. Gotcha.**

**watchingtherain1  
Guest – **Last I checked it was Hinata/Gaara, so I hope that it is, otherwise that's awkward!  
**Luana LS  
Guest – **I totally respect that you ship NaruSasu, but alas I cannot count myself amongst your group. With my stories, I'm afraid that if there's any form of Sasuke romance in it, it'll always be with Sakura. I'm loving your thoughts regarding Hinari, if you have any more please let me know! And thank you so much for your lovely review! :)  
**Rose101226  
WarFlower  
Guest – **Hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly now that uni's over! :)  
**justalice0407  
KiunoNamu  
Kitten123130  
stardust made  
VampirePrincessofDarkness  
Princess mAlice  
Gabster357 – **I'm so glad you think so, don't fall off! ;)  
**Daisy Faustian P**

* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Strength**

**.:{~}:.**

* * *

They stood together outside the classroom in silence, Hinata's class having been set some revision. Hinata couldn't quite believe that she was here, in front of her, looking a little awkward, but as confident as ever. It had been months since she'd last seen her. She'd grown a little taller, her face a little thinner, but otherwise she was the same. The fire in her eyes still as bright as ever.

"What are you doing here, Hanabi?" Hinata finally managed to ask, fighting a headache. Coming to peace with Naruto was one thing. Hanabi was something else entirely.

She had the grace to look a little ashamed, her eyes resting on the floor, her face turned away. "I…" she began, not lifting her eyes. "I came here because… because I wanted to apologise for what I did. But mostly I wanted to explain."

Hinata couldn't do that right now. She had a class to teach. Hinari to catch. Hanabi was just another person she had to worry about. Another person she had to protect.

"Now isn't a good time," she said, the words a little too forceful to be kind. "I'll be back in Konoha in a month. Can't you tell me then?"

Hanabi finally lifted her eyes, a little sadness in them. "No. I should've told you all this before I left to go on that mission. Before you left to go on this one. I was stupid. I still am stupid. I'm sorry. I can't say it enough. I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Hinata was dumbfounded; caught completely off guard. But also wary. Was Hanabi manipulating her, or was she being genuine? She couldn't tell, Hanabi was always better at that than she was. Burying her guilt so as to get what she wanted. Hinata truly wanted to believe that Hanabi felt remorse, but after what had happened… she felt that she couldn't quite trust her. She stayed silent.

Quiescence growing more awkward by the moment, Hanabi continued, tripping over her words in a desperate attempt to get them all out. "I should've told you why I did what I did. I know I should've, but I was just so _angry._ I wasn't angry at you, not really, but you're the one I took it out on because you wouldn't have to go through it. And I felt like you should because father was always saying that it was _me_ who should've been the Head, and I was going to be until you started to get better. And no matter how hard I tried you just kept getting better and I just kept slowing down and I couldn't keep up. I felt like you'd stolen it from me and I wanted to steal something from you, and that was so _childish_, I get that, but I was just so _angry_ that I couldn't help myself."

She paused for breath, wiping away brimming tears with the back of her hand before they could fall. And, knowing her sister like she did, Hinata stayed silent. Speaking would only derail what Hanabi was trying to say, and she felt like they both needed it to be said out loud. Hanabi took a deep breath, then continued, her voice softer and a little more controlled.

"Before I left, father told me that at the turn of the New Year, I would be receiving the curse seal. And it was like, everything that I'd worked for was just shattered then. It was like, that hadn't been finalised yet, and so I was always in with a chance. I've wanted to be Head ever since the Elders suggested it could be a possibility. And I could've lived with it if you wanted to be the Head as much as I did, but you didn't care. You were going to be Head because you were born first, not because you truly wanted to be. And that just made it so much worse, because you were getting something I'd always wanted only because you were born first, not because you wanted it too. And it hurt so much because you were so careless with it, all you wanted was Naruto. I just… I guess I just wanted you to know what it was like to want something so desperately, but not be able to have it because someone else got there first. And it was so cruel of me to do that, I know, I just couldn't stop myself. I saw red, all I could think about was hurting you just as much as I'd been hurt. It was like, you were on your way to getting everything you could ever want and I was going to be stuck with nothing, and I just wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry. I so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, I just couldn't stop. You probably hate me now. Pretty much everyone in the Village does. And Naruto hates me too. After he found your letter and I came clean, he just flew into this rage. Like, how dare I do that to you and to him. He was right, though. But I wish he'd realised earlier when I still didn't give a shit. Because I get it now, why you love him. I think I might a little too. He's kind of addictive, isn't he? He grew on me. But I want things to be right now. He broke up with me, anyway. He came here to try things with you. So you guys are probably together now, right? I hope so. I want you both to be happy. I don't want to hurt you anymore."

Hinata had never seen Hanabi like this: vulnerable, honest, laying bare her soul. She acted without thinking, and wrapped Hanabi within her arms, holding her as her big sister and giving her forgiveness with the gesture. "We're not together," she said quietly after a time. "We went out, but we figured that we're better as friends. I thought I loved him, but now I know I was just fascinated by him. Things have happened here. A lot of bad stuff. Now that you're here, I guess you're in a bit of danger."

Hanabi loosened the hold a little to look up at Hinata. "Danger?" she repeated, slightly bewildered. "What do you mean, danger?"

Hinata looked back at her in equal confusion. "Didn't you ask father about Hinari?" she asked.

"Of course I did, but he didn't really say much. Just said she was a little problem Suna was having but you're helping them figure it out," she replied.

Hinata was hit with equal shock and confusion. Hanabi knew nothing about what was happening. Their father had told her nothing, and yet had still allowed her to come here, knowing the danger that that would put her in. So, she confronted her about it.

"Father still let you come here?" she demanded, breaking away and holding her palm against her forehead. "He told you almost nothing, but didn't care about sending you here unprepared?"

"Well," Hanabi began, looking equal parts ashamed and proud, "he didn't really _let_ me, per se, more I left and put a note on his desk. Don't worry about it, I'll be going home soon anyway."

Hinata could have throttled her for a moment. But the frustrated urge gave way to fear in almost an instant. "You'll only go home _if_ she lets you. Hanabi, you don't understand what's happening here. Hinari is _dangerous._ One of the most dangerous people I've ever met. Hasn't father explained anything about the missing Hyuuga? The ones who haven't come home? Or the ones who never even made it here? She's killed over fifty people, Hanabi! That's probably the only reason you got through. No one even knew you were coming!"

Hanabi was bewildered. "_What_ missing Hyuuga? Father's sent some of our men here to help out, but no one's mentioned anyone being killed!"

Hinata wanted to scream. "None of the men he sent have made it here alive except for Ko and the first three. And when they left to go home, she killed them on the way. Haven't you noticed Ko's missing? He's dead, Hanabi! She killed him!"

Hanabi turned a sick shade of white and looked like she was able to faint. "W-what?" she stammered, her voice cracking. "They're dead? But… but how could they be… they were some of the best Hyuuga we've got. And Ko? Are you serious? Ko? How could… I don't… who is this Hinari? What does she want?"

Hinata could feel bile rise up in her throat. "It looks like revenge. Hanabi, mum never died in Konoha. She was pregnant and came to Suna. I don't know why. There's no record of why. And father won't tell me. She's our sister, Hanabi. She's around fourteen. She hasn't really told us what she wants, but she said to me that she would kill everyone I know and love and then she would kill me. I don't know why. I think she may have been tortured or experimented on by the Monks at the Wind Temple. I don't know why they did that either. But we found a room we think she had been kept in and there was evidence that led to that. Gods, there's so much I don't know. She's like smoke. Every time we think we've got her she fades through our fingers. She just kills everyone who gets in the way, or anyone who might know anything about her. She burned all the records kept at the Wind Temple, but before that she killed all the Monks there too. She's killed all but one orphan who was within her age bracket. She's killed every member of my family who has come here, and now that you're here she might try and kill you too. And if you leave chances are she'll definitely kill you. She sent _pieces_ of Ko to me. I don't know how to defeat her. And I don't know if I can keep you safe, either. The only person who has come and gone from here and it doesn't look like Hinari has attacked is Naruto, but that's _Naruto._ Him and Sasuke are probably the two strongest ninja in the world, and if there's anything Hinari's not it's stupid. I just… I can't lose you too." She couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes, but quickly brushed them away, refusing to be weak. Hinari had taken so much, Hinata wasn't going to add her pride to that list.

Though Hanabi had gone – if possible – an even starker shade of white, she took a deep breath and steeled herself. "I'm guessing there's some sort of squad handling this, right?"

Hinata nodded. "Temari's in charge of it. They're investigating the Temple at the moment."

Hanabi didn't hesitate. "Right, well, I'll talk to Temari about helping. Guess she could use all the extra help she can get, and I may as well do something while I'm stuck here. Kazekage Tower's to the east of the hospital, right?"

Hinata actually managed a smile. "Tallest building in Suna. You can't miss it."

"See you there," Hanabi said, and she was gone.

Hinata took a few deep breaths before re-entering her classroom, where Kankuro was sitting at her desk, feet propped up on the wooden table, looking a little worried. "What was that all about?" he asked, taking his feet down.

Hinata was able to shoot him another smile, this time with a little exasperation. "Hanabi's here," she said, managing to find a little amusement in the situation, before she turned back to her curious class.

* * *

The following two weeks proved to be uneventful. All of her students had passed their fifth exam, a feat which had Hinata glowing with pride. Hanabi joined the Investigation Squad, and though the Squad had found no further leads on Hinari, Hanabi dived into the investigation with such vigour, Temari was annoyed that she hadn't come in sooner. Naruto had, apparently, arrived safely home without incident.

When she wasn't teaching, Hinata was either helping the Investigation Squad as much as she was able, or out training with Hanabi. There was truly no one better than a Hyuuga for Hinata to practise with, especially when it came to her new move, one she had taken to calling Gentle Step: Lion Senbon. Hanabi offered invaluable advice on ways she could improve on it, and by the end of the two weeks, she was confident enough in it to say that she had perfected it.

It was after one of these sparring sessions, on a Saturday night, when Hinata and Hanabi lay panting in the dust in the cool of dusk that Hanabi turned to her.

"So what's with you and the Kazekage?"

Hinata almost choked on her spit, and had to roll onto her stomach in a coughing fit. "What do you mean?" she gasped, trying to look innocent though the blush on her cheeks gave her away in an instant.

"Oh come on Hinata, don't be stupid. There's something happening between you two. You share his _bed_ for Kami's sake! I'm not stupid!"

Hinata looked away, trying to gather her thoughts. What _was_ with her and Gaara? They weren't exactly in a relationship, though Hinata wanted to be with him with all her heart. But she knew that a relationship with him would be impossible. He was the Kazekage and she was Heiress to the Hyuuga Clan. It was folly to think that either of them could truly be together.

"Look, Hinata," Hanabi continued, lying back down. "I can tell that you both like each other. It's so obvious it makes me feel kinda sick. But have you thought about this at all? It can't work, Hinata. Father will want to arrange a marriage for you. He might've accepted Naruto because he's, firstly, one of the most powerful ninja to ever live, and secondly he actually lives in Konoha, but the Kazekage? Maybe if you were a branch member. Now that we have peace having a marriage between Suna and Konoha would only serve to strengthen our alliance, but never as the Head."

"Hanabi, I know all this," Hinata said, exasperated, not just at Hanabi, but at herself. "I know everything, Hanabi. I've thought and thought and thought about it, about what could happen, and I know how this is going to end. Gaara and I both know it. But…" She didn't know how to finish the sentence. There were some words she just couldn't let herself say out loud.

"But you love him, don't you," Hanabi finished, saying the words Hinata couldn't even think. They were a statement of fact, not a question, and Hinata couldn't find it within herself to deny them.

"I never meant for it to happen," Hinata said quietly, almost to herself. "Neither of us ever meant for it to happen. But suddenly that's how it turned out, and it was too late to turn back once we both realised. And after everything with Hinari… we haven't really had time to plan what we want to do. We're just going with it for now, and I'm trying not to think about what will happen once I leave Suna, once Hinari has been dealt with. But we're both going to have to face it eventually, that this can't work. I just can't bring myself to end it now. He's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I just don't know how to give that up."

Hanabi gave a short, gentle laugh. "I've never seen you like this before. Not with anyone. Not even with Naruto, and you were like, next-level creepy with Naruto. It reminds me a little of Sasuke and Sakura. Like, there's something more there. Some deeper level of understanding that you both have, where you just _get_ each other. When you're around him, I've never seen you be so happy before. But Hinata, you know that this is only going to hurt you in the end, right? This can't end well. It _won't_ end well. There's powers greater than yourselves stopping you from being together, and you can't just wave your responsibilities away. Not even for love."

"Don't _call_ it that," Hinata begged, refusing to form the word. The moment it was said it became real, and the moment it became real was the moment it started to hurt. If she never made that real then maybe she could delude herself into thinking that what they had wasn't real either. She could carry it around like a totem in her back pocket, sneak it out when she was alone to reminisce over, but always put it away before it started to ache. A sweet pulse of a memory stored in the back of her head, one to smile at on a rainy day, but not one that was real.

"But that's what it is," said Hanabi bluntly and without remorse. "You need to accept that before you can move on from it."

Hinata was quiet for a while. "That's the problem. I don't know if I can move on from it."

Eventually they stood and walked back to the Kazekage Tower in silence.

* * *

The following night, Hinata woke from her sleep, startled. Dawn was still a few hours away, but she couldn't help the overwhelming sensation that something was very wrong.

Quietly, so as not to disturb Gaara (Gods knew he got little enough sleep as it was) she crept out of bed and put a robe over her nightgown – the freezing Suna nights penetrated the walls and floors of the Tower, leaving the air icy. She left the room, intent on going to Hanabi. She shivered as she walked along the corridor, candles burning low in their braziers, her breath turned to frost as soon as it left her. Granules of sand whispered off the walls where her fingertips trailed lazily along it, and her feet padded along the hard stone surface.

Something in her gut – instinct, perhaps – had her activate her Byakugan when she was still about twenty feet shy of her sister's bedroom door.

The room was empty. Panicked, Hinata searched for a trace of her sister's chakra signature, one she knew as well as the back of her hand after all the training they'd done together, and picked it up quickly, about fifty metres west.

And she wasn't alone.

In fact, she wasn't even the one who was moving. She was being carried by a chakra signature Hinata had never seen before, though she didn't have to know the chakra signature to know who it belonged to.

Hinari had taken Hanabi.

Memories of what Hinari had done to Ko taunted Hinata's conscious, though she forced them away. Memories weren't going to help her. Action was. She was so panicked she didn't bother raising the alarm, instead she flew out of the Tower as fast as she was able, not even thinking of putting on shoes or changing out of her nightgown or even gathering so much as a kunai. She was focused solely on Hanabi's chakra signature, and Hinari's alongside it.

West, ever west they travelled, until Hinari slowed down near the caves that held the hot springs Gaara had taken her to once. Hinata slowed down with her, staying a cautious two-hundred metres behind her. She couldn't tell if Hinari's Byakugan was activated, though as there was no concentration of chakra around her eyes, Hinata could hazard a guess that she didn't.

She seemed as if she was looking for something, moving slower and slower along the rock face until she disappeared into a fissure in the wall.

Hinata was startled, and felt sick when Hanabi's image faded slowly until she could no longer see her. She quickly approached the area until she stood in the exact same spot Hinari had, her feet covering Hinari's own footprints, etched into the sand.

The rock had a similar effect on Hinata's Byakugan as the platinum room back at the Wind Temple – it blurred, gave her a headache, and in some areas cut out her vision entirely. She deactivated her Byakugan, considering it worthless in a place where she couldn't use it anyway.

In front of her, the rock had a small crack in its face. Barely five feet high and a foot wide, it was invisible to the naked eye from most angles. She wouldn't have seen it if she wasn't standing directly in front of it.

Her heart beat a tattoo against her ribcage and her hands were shaking, sweaty with fear. This was it. Hinari was in that cave. As was Hanabi. But Hinata loved Hanabi more than she feared Hinari, and so, steeling herself, she entered the cave side on, her head barely clearing the roof. Idly, she wondered how on earth Hinari had managed to get Hanabi in there too.

The cave seemed to stretch for miles, going deeper and deeper into the cliff, until she could no longer see the entrance. She activated her Byakugan again, but the interference from the rock left her head pounding so horrendously she quickly deactivated it again, figuring that at least with it off she could concentrate on her surroundings.

At last, after what she guessed to be a half hour, the tunnel swelled into a large room that broke off into other side chambers. Hinari, presumably, had placed torches into the occasional sconce so as to provide some light, though it did little more than flicker ghostly shadows onto the crumbling walls that unnerved Hinata more than guided her.

"H-hello?" Hanabi's groggy voice sounded from a chamber to her right. "Is anyone there? Gods, where am I? Hello?"

Throwing caution to the wind, Hinata followed the direction from which the voice came from, ignoring the echoes that tried to disorientate her. Her training as a ninja had prepared her for moments such as those.

It was a quick run to the chamber, which was less a room and more a cell. Hinata could stretch out her arms at touch the walls with her fingers. Solid iron bars were hammered into the rock from floor to ceiling, and Hanabi's ghost-white face was peeking from between them, her hands clenched around the poles.

"Hinata," she gasped in relief, and Hinata could hear the sob in her words. "Gods, thank Kami you're alright. She knocked me out. The back of my head hurts so bad and I'm pretty sure it bled at one stage. You've got to get me out of here, quick, before she comes back."

Though she was whispering, her words bounced off the walls in such a fashion she may as well have yelled.

"She did something to my chakra points, I can't use my chakra, I can't even activate my Byakugan!"

Hinata shook her head, grasping the bars so as to assess their strength. "It wouldn't help in here, I think there's platinum in the rock. Our Byakugan can't penetrate platinum. It's too dense."

The bars were strong, well maintained, not rusted at any point. There was nothing for it. Hinata would have to use her chakra to break through it.

Something hit the back of her head with the force of a brick, and the last thing she heard before she fell into darkness was Hanabi's echoing scream.

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**Don't kill me! *cowers***

**So… thoughts? Anyway, now that uni's over for the year I'll hopefully be able to get the next chapter out a **_**lot**_** faster than I have been recently. Though reviews do always help with that pesky motivation ;) Two more chapters left, holy shit! Next one is going to be a monster I *think*. Lots of stuff to unveil. Stick with me for two more chapters guys, all the stuff will be revealed!**

**And uh, if anyone's interested in my new story it's called I Can See The Kites Fly. It's an AU GaarHina, because I feel more comfortable in my little AUs. It'll be my next project after Strength and it'd mean the absolute world to me if you could check it out and even leave a little review. It's had a lot of silent readers and that puts a little damper on the ol' inspiration, ya feel me?**

**Anyway, thank you guys so so so much for patiently sticking with me through my crazy updating schedule. I couldn't ask for better readers and reviewers, you all honestly make my days so much more muchier :)**

**All my love, Alia xoxo**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**I'll tell you what guys, the names thing in this chapter drove me crazy, switching between Hinata, Hinari, and Hanabi. My own stupid fault though. I wanted to get Hinari's name a good cross between Hinata and Hanabi. Chaos ensued. What I'm trying to say, is that if you see a slip-up, just let me know and I'll fix it. I did my best but mistakes are always bound to occur haha.**

**Potential trigger warning: this chapter contains mentions of rape. There's no detailing of it, no descriptions, but it is referenced a couple of times. If you are sensitive to even the word rape, please message me and I'll send you an edited version of the chapter that substitutes the word xo**

**Thank you very much for reviewing lovely people:**

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**Chapter 20**

**.:{~}:.**

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The first thing she noticed was that her head ached. Her eyes hadn't opened yet, a dull throb echoed behind her closed lids and she couldn't bring herself to open them. What had happened?

She had woken up startled from a deep sleep, Gaara slumbering peacefully beside her, a feeling that something was wrong hammering in her gut.

She had gone to find Hanabi, but she wasn't in her room.

She had followed her, she had been taken to a cave on the outskirts of Suna, and then…

And then…

Hinata's eyes flew open in panic, desperately searching to find her sister.

She didn't have to look for long. Hanabi was bound tightly to a chair, unconscious, but breathing regularly, about four feet in front of her. Hinata instinctively moved to go and help her, but found that she, too, had been bound so tightly that she couldn't move enough to break free.

Another pain made itself known then, a pain like a bruise, all over her body, one Hinata was familiar with.

Her chakra points had been disabled. Of course they had. Hinari was anything but stupid. She couldn't activate her Byakugan either, and she really shouldn't have been surprised, but Gods what she would have done to have access to it then. Goosebumps prickled her skin. She knew that she was being watched, but without her Byakugan she felt so… helpless.

"I'm glad you're awake," said a voice, and Hinata craned her neck around to see Hinari stand up from a small ledge where she had been sitting, waiting. She walked in a wide arc towards Hinata and Hanabi, her steps cautious, precise, and calculated. She watched Hinata with something like curiosity in her eyes. "I want to talk. I've wanted to for a while now, but it never seemed… right, somehow. It's right now, though." Her voice had a girlish edge to it with a mature tone. Like she'd never been properly taught how to speak, but experience had forced a kind of wisdom onto her that showed through her vocals.

Hinari looked different to what Hinata had expected. She'd conjured up a monstrous image of the girl in her head, expecting her appearance to be as horrific as her actions.

Hinari was pretty. Dark curtains of deep indigo hair framed a sweet oval face and large white eyes with a slight hint of lavender to them. She was small, not even clearing five foot, and a little too skinny, skin stretched a little too tight over her cheekbones, her eyes a little wide in her young face. The knee-length dress she wore was probably once white, but months, or even years of wear had turned it a brownish, greyish colour.

What surprised Hinata most, however, wasn't how pretty she was. It was the deep, pitted scarring that surrounded her eyes. An inch wide on all sides, it looked like she'd been cut over and over again, then had acid smeared over her eyelids, brows and cheekbones until an angry pink mess of skin remained, standing stark against her otherwise milky features. Similar scarring circled her wrists and her ankles. Hinata assumed that that had been caused by the iron cuffs she'd been chained in.

"Foul, isn't it," Hinari said, touching the scars around her eyes. "I have more. You just can't see them."

Hinata watched her wearily as she circled, coming to a standstill next to Hanabi. "She should wake up soon. I'm surprised you woke up first. I hit you pretty hard. She only fainted." She said it matter-of-factly, as if she were discussing the weather, and the complete emotionlessness of her voice unnerved Hinata far more than she was willing to admit. She'd pictured Hinari to be a psychotic, raving lunatic. Not calm. Not collected. Mature, even. Pride emanated from the way she held herself, a confident air in the way her shoulders were held back, face held high.

Hinata said the words before she even registered that they'd passed her lips. "If you're going to kill us, just get it over with. I'm tired of this, Hinari. I'm tired of your games." Her insides were quaking with terror, but Hinata forced courage onto her face. She wasn't about to give Hinari the satisfaction of seeing her fear.

Hinari chuckled and stroked a piece of Hanabi's hair. "I'm going to kill her. Not you. Not yet. You'll die eventually, but he doesn't understand yet. He needs to understand first. Then you'll die."

Though she had no idea who 'he' could be, Hinata was concentrating on trying to waste time, put off the moment when Hinari's attention would be drawn to Hanabi. Keep Hinari's attention centred on herself. The longer she ignored Hanabi, the more chance there would be of someone finding them, of someone coming to help them. At least until Hinata could figure out a way to loosen her bindings, or even regain some control over her chakra. "Who is 'he'? What doesn't he understand? Tell me, Hinari. I want to understand. Please tell me."

"You'll understand soon," she said, her voice a monotone.

"Please tell me," Hinata pleaded. "You may as well tell me."

Hinari looked at her from narrowed, scarred eyes, and Hinata wasn't sure whether she was debating on telling her, but she pushed the chance because her life depended on it.

"I saw the platinum room at the Temple," Hinata said desperately. "I saw what you scratched into the walls. I just don't understand, Hinari. I don't understand why that was done to you. The Monks had raised you, why -"

"_Raised _me? Ha!" Hinari barked the laugh, taking a step away from Hanabi towards Hinata. "They didn't raise me," she whispered, leaning over so as to be eye-level with Hinata. "They _raped_ me. Over and over. From when I was seven to when I finally broke free. They took a little girl who worshipped the very _shit_ that left their bodies and they tried to _break_ her. But I broke them instead. One by one. They were like matches and I snapped them in half. I'd never had so much fun before."

The imagery left Hinata's gut churning and she had to force herself to not be sick. But she kept on with her questions, for nothing else but Hanabi's sake. "What changed when you were seven?" she asked, forcing the words out.

Hinari smiled, though it was sad. The emotion looked alien on her face. "I wrote a letter," she said. Hinata stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. "I knew I was different from the others. The eyes kinda gave it away. And one day I came across a scroll that had kept detailed records of the Hyuuga. That was the first scroll I burned, by the way. And when I found others that told of what they'd done to me, I decided to burn them all. Anyway, when I asked the Monks, they told me about my mother, and who she had been married to, and I asked them if I could write a letter to him. See if he'd let me come live with him. I still remember what I wrote. I must have read over it a thousand times before I sent it. _Dear Hiashi,_" she recited, her voice changing to that of a child's. "_My name is Hinari and I live in Suna. My mum's name was Hana, and I think she was your wife. I think that that also means that I am your daughter. I'm writing this because I would really like to come and live with you and the rest of my family. I promise, if you let me, I'll be the best daughter ever and I will love you every day. Lots of love, Hinari._ And do you want to know what he wrote back?" She reached into a pocket tucked away in the folds of her dress and retrieved a very old and crumbling scrap of paper, worn around the edges with a hole near the top.

On the paper was her father's overly-neat script. She would know it anywhere.

"_You are not mine. You are unnatural. You are not welcome. You are a freak_," Hinari echoed the words without needing to look at them. "The Monks hammered this into the floor in front of me when they chained me up. A nice little reminder that no matter what happened to me, no one would ever come looking for me. That's why they waited. They hadn't had any kind of confirmation that the Hyuuga knew I existed or would ever want me. They couldn't risk a war if they chained me up before that. When they got this confirmation, it was a golden ticket for them. They could do whatever they wanted without care for the repercussions."

Behind them, Hanabi let out a soft groan as she started to wake. Hinata felt the blood leave her face at the sound, praying that Hanabi stayed quiet. But whether she had the sense to or not was shattered the moment the back of Hinari's hand smacked across Hanabi's cheek, shocking the girl awake. It echoed like thunder through the cave, and when Hinata finally saw her sister's face, a bright red handprint was emblazoned on her cheek. Hanabi was weeping softly, her eyes staying closed.

"Open your eyes now, little Hanabi," Hinari crooned. "You can't stay sleeping forever."

Hinata searched around desperately for something, anything to distract Hinari. Anything to keep her attention off Hanabi.

"But I still don't understand _why, _Hinari. Why did they hurt you so much? Suna and Konoha weren't exactly enemies, why did they keep you locked away? Why did they hurt you?"

It worked. To an extent. She didn't turn away from Hanabi, but she refrained from harming her further. "They only did that for the first month or so. After that, a man came. A tall, slimy man who looked like a snake. He said his name was Orochimaru. He'd come to Suna to propose an alliance. Divided, Suna and Sound were weak, but together they were strong enough to crush the Leaf. Especially with the Hachibi.

"But the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki didn't have complete control and they couldn't trust him to not lose control at the wrong moment. And that's where I came in. See, you should know that our Byakugan is one of the three great Dojutsu. And Orochimaru showed the Monks how to make mine stronger. I wasn't born this way. I was _made_ this way. I was _designed_ to be able to take down a Jinchuuriki. They strengthened my Byakugan beyond natural limits. They eliminated that one tiny blind spot we have. I can see for twenty kilometres in every single direction. They made my body stronger, faster, they made me smarter, all so that I could be a backup weapon should the Jinchuuriki lose control again, or their own personal Ultimate Weapon should he fail altogether. The discarded, unwanted fragments of the great Hyuuga Clan at their every beck and call. And all this was your father's fault. He couldn't take mercy on one little Hyuuga girl who was begging for his love and his home. He's the reason that they could do this. He told me that I was a freak and they made me in to one. That's why you need to stay alive for now, Hinata. You're the heiress to the Hyuuga Clan. He needs to understand what it's like to have his future torn out from underneath him, until there's nothing left but an empty husk. I was planning on coming to Konoha when your pretty little face turned up in Suna. It was like fate had dropped you at my feet, like the Gods were finally smiling at me for the first time in my life."

Her monologue over, she turned her attention back on Hanabi. "And then you too arrived. Now the fun can begin."

Hanabi's eyes, which had been slightly open for a while, flew open in fear. "What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice a tremor of strength.

"Playing," Hinari said simply, and extracted a kunai from the other pocket within her dress. Her face was completely blank when she ran the blade down Hanabi's forearm, drawing a long line of blood in its wake, from shoulder to wrist.

Hanabi refused to scream, her jaw locked tightly, quivering slightly, her face turned away, eyes once again closed.

"Hinari, please!" Hinata pleaded, struggling against her bindings. "Hinari, I'm sorry for what happened to you. I didn't know! None of us knew! I'm sorry, please don't hurt her, hurt me, hurt me instead, please!"

She looked up, kunai poised. "Does this hurt you?" she asked, no emotion in her voice.

"Yes," Hinata said, trying to force tears away from her eyes. She couldn't look away from the long cut on Hanabi's arm. It was bleeding profusely, running red rivulets over her milky skin.

"Then I am hurting you," said Hinari conversationally, then made the exact same cut down Hanabi's other arm.

Hinata could see a small tear leak out the side of Hanabi's closed eyes. It ran slowly down her cheek, leaving a path of crystal-like water across her skin, the facets refracting the light from the torches.

"You're like the other one I brought back here," said Hinari suddenly, ending her cut and looking to start a new one. "What was his name again? Ko? He didn't scream either. Well, not until I started cutting off pieces. I admired him for that. When the Monks worked on me I screamed and screamed and screamed until they'd knock me out. I decided to spare him after I cut off his nose. Slit his throat and then I cut out his tongue and cut off his hands. He was a good man. I could see why you cared for him."

Hinata had to force herself to not vomit. "Why… why did you kill him if you liked him then?" she asked, almost panting.

"For the same reason I'll kill you. I like you, Hinata. I liked Ko. I even like this sister of ours. But you are all part of the same leech who condemned me. That is why you have to die. If it makes you feel better, I plan to put a kunai through myself when this is all over. The Hyuuga don't deserve to live anymore. And that includes me. We'll all be gone, but you need to understand why first. And you don't understand yet. But you will. Eventually you will." She turned to Hanabi. "Would you like your legs or your chest next? I'm debating on whether to start from the top and work my way down, or work from the outside in. Your choice."

Hanabi opened her eyes, and fear shone from her pale irises. "Go to hell," she spat through gritted teeth.

"I will. I might just see you there," Hinari replied, calm. "So outside in? I did always prefer that method. Too much risk of killing you around your lungs, and we don't want that yet. Should I cut the tendons in your heels? Make sure you can't run away? Would be a lot safer to do that, don't you think?" She bent down, caressed the heel of Hanabi's foot with her kunai, when she stood up suddenly, Byakugan activated. "We have a visitor," she said, and put her finger against her mouth in a silencing gesture, before she melted into the flickering shadows.

Hinata craned her head, searching for their 'visitor', not sure whether to pray that it be a friend or foe. If it were foe, an accomplice, then things would only become so much more painful for Hanabi, but if it were friend then they would be in danger too.

"Who's there?" she called out, trying to stop the waver in her voice. "Whoever you are, leave now. Just go."

"Hinata? Is that you?" Hinata's heart sunk into her stomach as Nise's voice echoed through the caves. What was she doing here? How did she find them?

"Nise, go back, she's here, she'll kill you, just leave, now, quick."

To her dismay, Nise's face peaked around the final corner. As soon as Nise saw Hinata and Hanabi, she rushed towards them, and immediately started trying to undo the bindings around Hinata's hands. "Where is she?" Nise whispered, grappling with the ropes. Her eyes darted about nervously, trying to penetrate the surrounding shadows.

"Nise, just go, please, raise the alarm," Hinata begged, wishing that just for _once_ the girl would listen to her.

"I'm not going to leave you here with her!" Nise insisted. The ropes on Hinata's right hand were tied so tightly, Nise could barely get a grip on them, let alone untie them. She gave up on the first bindings and tried the ones on Hinata's other hand. "Damn these ropes," she hissed, tugging at them.

"How did you find us anyway?" Hinata demanded, wishing that now, more than ever, she could use her Byakugan. Hinari could hide from the naked eye, but very little could hide from a Byakugan.

"I… this is going to sound so stupid, but I dreamed this. It was like what happened at the Temple, I just… I saw this, I saw you, and I knew in my gut that this was real, and that I had to come and help you." She looked frustrated with herself, unable to offer any other form of explanation. Hinata couldn't fathom why Nise had started seeing things, but if it got her and Hanabi out then she wasn't about to question it.

"Did you tell anyone? Try to raise some kind of alarm? Does anyone know we're here?" Hinata asked, praying that Nise used her intelligence for once and actually called for backup.

Nise gave up on her arms and started trying to work on her legs. "No one was awake. I tried, I knocked on doors, but no one would answer and I didn't want to leave you here too long in case I got here too late. I tried to make my tracks really obvious in the sand though, so that anyone who goes looking would be able to find us."

Hinata would've hit her if her hands weren't still bound. For such a smart girl, she had a serious lack of common sense.

"Did you at least bring a kunai or some kind of weapon?" Hinata asked, praying she had the sense to do _that_ at least.

Nise looked guilty, but otherwise didn't reply.

"Nise, please just go before she kills you. You escaped once, don't tempt it again. Go back and raise the alarm, go to the Kazekage tower, get backup, _something,_ just go!"

"I already told you Hinata, I'm not going t -"

She fell silent, and it only took Hinata a moment to realise why. Hinari had come up behind her, somehow without being caught –

_She was designed for this, Hinata. Did you forget so easily?_

– and put her kunai through Nise's chest. Hinata wanted to scream, clawed desperately at the sound trapped in her throat, but could only stare in horror as blood flowered on Nise's shirt, her electric blue eyes turned glossy and the red fluid began to drip from the corner of her lips.

"S-sorry," Nise stuttered, the sound almost a whimper, and then she collapsed on the floor, the sand stained scarlet beneath her.

Hinari stood up, looking at Nise's lifeless body, and wiped the blood from the kunai on her dress, a bright red smear on the tattered material. "Don't look so shocked," she said, seeing the look of horror on Hinata's face. "She was bound to die eventually. Loose ends and all that."

Hinata leaned over the side of her chair and dry heaved, trying to force bile out of her empty stomach. "Loose ends?" she eventually stammered out, her stomach still heaving. Opposite her, Hanabi was staring at Nise's body, petrified into silence, eyes wide.

"Right, you wouldn't have known, would you? She didn't know either. The Monks were clever, but not quite clever enough. See, I grew up with her. And Hirari. You know that the Monks separated the orphans into groups of three or four to better control us. I know you do. I made her tell you."

Hinata couldn't understand that statement, but stayed silent.

"They named Hirari because she could almost pass off as me. She was the same age as me, almost the same hair, almost the same skin, her eyes were an ice grey in colour. If anyone came looking for me, a girl named Hinari, they could say _are you sure you don't mean this girl, Hirari?_ It became especially important once they took me away, in case anyone came looking for a little Hyuuga girl. There was something they didn't count on, though, when they made my Byakugan stronger. The little platinum cell they locked me in soon wasn't enough to contain my Byakugan. The metal wasn't dense enough. I could see through it, to all the people in the Temple, see everyone's chakra. I didn't tell the Monks that, of course. They would have tried to find something else to contain me, and the less they knew, the more I could do.

"I realised pretty quickly that if I could _see_ everyone's chakra, what could stop me from manipulating it? Who said I had to be near them to control their chakra? I'd already surpassed normal limits, what was to stop me from going further?

"I tried it with Hirari first. She was my doppelganger, it made sense. I started with simple, little things. Waited until she went to sleep and made her sleepwalk. Eventually I manipulated her memory to forget that she ever knew me. It would be annoying if someone started asking questions. But I'd only seen the inside of those four gleaming walls for so long I was desperate for a little colour. And so I tried to manipulate the chakra in her eyes, make a passage for me to slide along so I could use her eyes as my own.

"She wasn't strong enough, and her eyes disintegrated under the pressure. She went blind and I was back to square one. I was furious, all those months of work for nothing. That's why her death was so… _personal._ She failed me when I needed her, and the Monks passing her off as me, a freak, in turn made her a freak.

"But I quickly realised I had a second girl. This piece of shit here. Nise. So I started work on her. I got better with my manipulation the longer I did it and the stronger my eyes became. And thankfully, she could handle the pressure. It irritated her eyes, certainly. You might have noticed that she was always rubbing them? Chakra manipulation on such a delicate part of the human body couldn't be done without a side effect. But irritation is better than blindness, so I didn't worry too much. Soon it wasn't just her eyes I could use, I could make her say what I wanted, forget periods of time if I needed, do what I wanted. She was like an unaware puppet. Once you arrived, she was everything I could've hoped for. As long as she stayed within range of my Byakugan, I could see and hear everything you did, every move you made, and you didn't suspect a thing because you'd never seen how her chakra use to be. You never saw a change because to you there _wasn't_ any change. Unfortunately, feed from my end started going back along the channel. That's why she knew of that room in the Temple, that's how she found us here, that's how she knew that I'd killed the rest of the orphans. But she's dead now. I don't need her anymore." Hinari pushed Nise aside with her foot, the girl's body moving like a ragdoll.

"Why did you kill them?" Hinata asked, wanting answers, figured that Hinari owed them to her if she was going to kill her. "Those orphans were innocent. Why did you kill them?"

Hinari kept her eyes on Nise's face, something like regret playing out across her own eyes. "I didn't intend to kill all of them. When I went to the orphanage I was only going to kill the ones on your list. I couldn't be certain that someone didn't know something about me, and I couldn't have you knowing anything more than I wanted you to. It would put me in a dangerous position. You're smart, Hinata. You could use the simplest piece of information to try and hurt me, or try and find me. I couldn't risk it. I was on the last kid too, when one of the workers who was making her rounds saw me. She screamed, and when I activated my Byakugan I saw that everyone else had started to wake up. I worked quickly. The rest of them were dead in under fifteen seconds. None of them suffered, if that's what you're worried about. I had to cut up little Nise here though. I still needed her, but it would look suspicious if it didn't look like I'd at least tried to kill her. That's why I didn't attack Hirari. I wanted you to be suspicious of her. I wanted you to be distracted for a little bit." She bent down and closed Nise's eyes.

Not sparing Nise another thought, Hinari turned back to Hanabi. "Maybe I should just kill you now. Make it quick. Toying is fun but it's dangerous. If she really did leave obvious tracks then there's a chance they'll find us. And it's not like people won't notice you're both missing."

Hinata went cold, blood turned to ice in her veins. "No," she whispered, not meaning to, the word just slipped out like water. But once it started she couldn't stop. "Hinari, please, please don't hurt her. It's me you want. Kill me instead. Please, do whatever you want with me, just please, please let her go."

Hinari turned curious eyes on her. "Why should I? She broke your heart, didn't she? Why would you want to save her after she hurt you?"

Hinata didn't even notice when her tears started to fall. "Because she's my sister, and I love her."

Hinari stalked towards her, rested her hands on the chair's armrests, glared at Hinata through angry, scarred eyes. "I'm your sister too. Do you love me?"

Hinata stayed silent.

She let out a huff of amused air. "Of course you don't. No one else has, so why should you, right? This stupid idea that you should love someone just because they're kin. That's why I loved Hiashi. I thought he was my father, and that that automatically warranted him my love, and that him being my father would make him love me. How _stupid_ of me, right? And I was stupid to believe that the Monks loved me too. Just because I had loved them, had looked up to them, had _worshipped_ them, didn't mean that they loved me too. And that Hirari and Nise loved me, but they pretty much forgot about me the moment I was taken. I could see it in their memories."

Hinata could feel the bruised sensation beginning to fade around her fingertips. The slightest flow of chakra returned, swirling sluggishly, and Hinata refrained from stretching her fingers, lest she draw its attention to Hinari.

"See, Hinata, that's all I wanted." Hinari's voice had gone soft, eyes looking at the ground, kunai twirled between her fingers. "Ever since I was little. When I was a little girl, I would dream of a nice family that would come to the Temple and all the kids would line up so that they could inspect us for adoption. And they would look at each kid, but stop in front of me. Maybe there'd be a mum, and she'd bend down and ask me if I wanted her to be my mummy, and she'd hug me, and kiss me, and maybe there'd be a dad too, and he'd give me a toy and swing me up on his shoulders. But the Monks would always hide me away whenever a family came. So when I found out that I might have a real, living dad, I spent that whole month waiting for his reply dreaming that he would walk up those steps, and his eyes would be the same colour as mine, and he'd gather me up in his arms and he'd tell me that he's my dad, and that he loves me, and he'd take me home and he'd _love _me."

The bindings on Hinata's right hand had become a fraction loose after Nise's attempts to help her escape. Hinata didn't want to admit it, but her heart was breaking for Hinari. She couldn't understand why her father had done what he did.

"When I got his reply I cried so hard I vomited. Why could he love every other Hyuuga but me? What was so wrong with me that he couldn't love me? Why was I a freak? I was _seven_, Hinata. All I wanted was for _someone_ to love me."

Hinata hated to admit it, but her questions were valid. She wasn't always like this. What _was_ so wrong with her that Hiashi couldn't accept her into their Clan? What had happened between Hiashi and her mother?

"I ran to one of the Monks for comfort and he dragged me into a room and he _raped_ me. I was scared and I was alone and I was hurt, and they dragged me down to a room that I couldn't see out of, and they starved me and beat me and chained me up and told me that I was a freak. I spent that whole month praying to whatever Gods existed that it was all a bad dream. That I would wake up and Hiashi would be there and he'd take me home. But then Orochimaru came with the Kazekage and his ideas, and they tied me to a cold metal table and they cut open my eye sockets and drilled into my head and injected poisons into my body until I screamed so loud they'd punch me in the face so I'd black out."

She was crying. Hinari was crying. Hinata was so shocked she stopped breathing for a moment, almost stopped concentrating on her ever loosening bindings and her slowly returning chakra.

"And then you showed up. You think you found me by accident? Why do you think you wandered so deep into that graveyard? Do you really think it was just coincidence that you stumbled upon my grave? The manipulation was so subtle you didn't even realise I was there. Turning you left instead of right. Forward instead of left. Look down when you were going to look up. You found me because I wanted you to find me. Then acted like you were actually sad I was dead. I knew what you were feeling. There was sadness there, but there was relief there too. One less sister to look out for. One less sister to betray you. Well Hinata, I'm here now. Are you relieved yet? Do you love me yet? Because we both know the answer to that question, but I can live with the knowledge that none of this was my fault. I was a girl forced to become a freak because no one loved me and when no one loves you no one will miss you. And someone no one will miss is the perfect person to make a freak out of."

Hinata almost had it. Just another minute. The chakra was moving slowly down her arm, coalescing in her fingertips, building up power. Hinari's Byakugan wasn't activated. There was a chance she could do this.

"I _want_ you to hate me, Hinata. Hatred and loathing is all I know. It's become a comfort to me. Love was so warm it _burned_ me, but hate is cold and it soothed those burns, held me at night when I was alone, nurtured my confusion and anger. But you know what's ridiculous? There's still some part of me, that little girl that just won't _die_, that also wants you to love me. To know what it's like to be loved before the end. I know it won't happen, but it's stupid, isn't it? Maybe I'll make you hug me before I kill you. I've never been hugged, did you know that? I use to practise hugging my pillow so that one day, when someone hugged me, I'd be really good at it."

Hinari fell silent, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"I'm going to kill Hanabi now," she said quietly, and Hinata swore she could hear a tinge of regret in her voice. Hanabi's desperate protests fell on deaf ears. "I'll make it quick. You won't suffer, Hanabi. You know, I think we could've been friends, us three. If things had been different."

She turned her back to Hinata, kunai raised, and that momentary lapse in concentration was all the opportunity Hinata needed.

The chakra became a ball of pure, writhing energy in her palm, then slinked through her fingers to the tenketsu in her fingertips. It built up power, built up stamina, and Hinari was so close to Hanabi that Hinata only had a few more moments left to pull this off before her sister was dead.

Hinata forced as much chakra as she could into her fingertips, before she aimed her hand at Hinari's back and released her Gentle Step: Lion Senbon.

The first one missed by a hair's breadth, but the final four hit her in the small of her back, draining her chakra immediately upon impact.

Hinata didn't wait for her reaction, instead used what little chakra she could control to secure her strength and break through her bindings. Adrenaline kicked in, slowing every movement, every breath down, until she could almost see every scar that added to the web around Hinari's surprised, hurt, and – the emotion flickered so briefly she wasn't sure if it was ever there – relieved eyes.

Hinari turned, one hand cradling the small of her back, the other holding the kunai. Her Byakugan was activated. She swiped her blade at Hinata, but the movement was not as precise as it should have been, it was almost sloppy in her shock, and Hinata blocked it easily. Using the ball of chakra in her palm that hadn't yet dissipated, Hinata formed it into a chakra scalpel at the tips of her fingers.

She gripped the hand that Hinari held her kunai in, held it tight so that she couldn't move it, used what little strength she had to hold it there. Hinari's strength had fled her with the sudden loss of her chakra, and her skin felt as fragile as a butterfly's wings where Hinata held it. But Hinata forced herself to ignore this, forced herself to ignore the way that Hinari didn't even try to fight further, forced herself to ignore the way Hinari's eyes closed with tears still tangling at the edges, forced herself to ignore how she smiled a small, sad little smile, and all this while she forced her chakra scalpel, hand and all, straight through Hinari's diaphragm.

Hinari dropped the kunai. Hinata heard it thud in the sand, and her hand went limp. Hinata held their position for a few moments, before she lowered them both – her hand still through Hinari's diaphragm, dripping with blood – to the ground.

She was alive still, choking on her lifeblood where it seeped out of her mouth. It gurgled and frothed, Hinari clawed for each breath. Her hand had snagged on a part of Hinata's hair, and she looked at it, ran the threads through her fingertips, before she turned back to Hinata's face. Hinata couldn't take her eyes away from where her arm disappeared inside Hinari's body. "Look at me," Hinari murmured. There were tears in her eyes that hadn't flowed over yet, and streaks of scarlet ran over her cheeks and chin. "Look at me," she repeated, a little more force in her words, and Hinata turned to look her in the eye. She had no eyelashes, and her eyebrows were gone too. Lost under layers and layers of scars. Her eyes looked afraid. "Can you hold me and pretend that you love me?" she whispered, and Hinata was able to detect a hint of desperation in her voice.

Hinata couldn't find it within herself to deny her. Hinari was unarmed, dying, chakra depleted, but above all she was just a girl of fourteen, who had done the only thing she knew how to do after the only thing she'd wanted had been stripped away from her.

Hinata couldn't forgive her for what she'd done. Hinari had violently murdered a lot of people, most of them innocent. But Hinata didn't believe that she was truly evil. She was merely emulating what had been done to her. She was right, really: she wasn't born that way, she was designed to be that way.

She removed her hand from Hinari's chest and held her in her last few seconds of life. And when her last breath finally sighed from her chest, Hinata laid her down gently on to the sand. He eyes were closed, though a little chink of white showed from beneath her eyelids, a soft smile was on her face and her hair flowed like a river of midnight around her pale cheeks.

Hinata was on auto-pilot. She used Hinari's kunai to cut through Hanabi's bindings, and used what little chakra she had left to staunch Hanabi's bleeding arms. She would have to go to the hospital. The cuts were deep and she had lost a lot of blood. But Hinata just didn't have the strength to move. She cut off strips of fabric from her nightgown and bandaged Hanabi's wounds as best as she was able.

Time passed, though she wasn't sure how much time – seconds, minutes, hours, days? – when Gaara emerged from the cave entrance, followed closely by Temari, Kankuro, and a number of other Suna Shinobi and Kunoichi. Hinata had never been so relieved to see someone in her life as she was to see Gaara.

And then she was in his arms, and his lips were on hers and his fingers were caressing her hair, and she should have cared that there were other people there watching them, but she couldn't work up the energy.

"I thought you were dead," he was saying to her, lips on her cheek, then buried in her neck, in her hair, kissing away the tears she didn't realise she was crying, kissing her nose, her forehead, her lips again. "I thought you were dead," he repeated, and she didn't think she'd ever been held so tightly in her life. "Don't do that to me again," he begged her. "Don't leave me like that again, please, I thought you were dead, I thought she'd killed you, I couldn't live with myself if you died, Gods, you can't do that to me, please, don't leave me like that."

"I won't," she muttered, the words a promise she couldn't keep.

Temari had instructed two guards to take Hanabi to the hospital along with Nise, then she crouched down next to Hinari's small, lifeless body. "What happened here?" she asked Hinata, and the girl turned to face her from Gaara's unrelenting hold. "How did you beat her?"

Hinata took a moment to answer, thinking back on what had happened, on how it had happened, and could only come to a single conclusion. "I think she let me kill her. I think she wanted to die." And with that, she relayed Hinari's story to Temari and Gaara and Kankuro.

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**I think I probably took this chapter in a direction a lot of you weren't expecting. This chapter was actually the first thing to pop in to my head for this story, I've been waiting to write it for about three years haha. I can't believe that there's only one chapter left, I feel so sad. I really hope you guys have enjoyed my story  
**

**Reviews are always extremely appreciated, especially from those who favourite and don't leave a review. I'm really grateful that you enjoy my story enough to favourite it, but reviews honestly just mean so much more. It's like, this story is a little piece of me that I'm giving to you, and a review is a little something back. It's more personal than a favourite. Now I'm getting all sentimental.**

**All my love, Alia xoxo**


	21. Chapter 21

**Happy holidays everyone! I hope that, no matter what you celebrate (or if you don't celebrate anything at all), you all have a wonderful time.**

**So this is the final chapter of Strength. I can't thank you all enough for your wonderful support of me and my story, it means more than I can say, and I'm honoured to have received it. Thank you so much, and I hope you like the last instalment of Strength. (Hopefully) see you next story!**

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* * *

**.:{~}:.**

**Chapter 21**

**.:{~}:.**

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Hinata insisted that Hinari's body be taken back to Konoha for burial. It seemed like something she would have wanted, and Hinata felt that her father owed it to her. Hanabi left Suna with the body to ensure that Hiashi carried out her wish, and to inform him of everything that had happened. Hiashi had two weeks to get his story straight. Hinata was intent on confronting him the moment she returned home. And he wouldn't get away with evading her.

Hinata's final two weeks passed in a blur of relief and dismay. Relief, because Hinari's reign of terror was finally over. She could sleep at night without fear of another attack. That the mystery had finally been solved, and no one else would be harmed.

Yet, dismay too, over what had been done to Hinari, and what she had done to so many people; so many of Hinata's loved ones. Nise was dead. Ko was dead. Multiple other members of her family had been killed. Multiple innocent people had been caught in the crossfire.

Dismay that she would soon be leaving Gaara. Dismay that she would soon be leaving the hospital. Dismay that she would soon be leaving this city of extremes that she had come to love so much. Hinari had caused so much damage, but in some ways, without her, Hinata wouldn't have been able to see the beauty in what most would see as a dry, arid desert. She would miss the searing heat of the day and the piercing cold of the night; would miss the way that the sunlight would shimmer on the rolling sands while the moonlight would coat them in a silvery sheen. Hinari's terror had forced her to find beauty in the most unlikely of places, and she had fallen in love with Suna as a result.

Nise's body was buried in a small, private ceremony in the Suna graveyard, and once Temari had finished the report detailing what had been done to Hinari and what Hinari herself had done, Gaara released the information to the public.

"Suna deserves closure on this," he had said to Hinata when she asked him about the decision. "If we tried to cover this up, then what's to stop it from happening again, to another young child in the future? Suna deserves an explanation as to why so many people were killed, and Hinari deserves to have her story told. The Monks had shamed themselves. They don't deserve to be martyred, and that's what would happen if we never released this information."

Hinata had to agree with him. Suna deserved to know the truth about why so many of their people had died. Just like Hinata deserved to know the truth about why her father had rejected Hinari.

All too soon, and yet not soon enough, Hinata's time in Suna came to an end. Her class sat their final exam, and eight of her students completed the program, more than Suna was expecting. It would take a significant amount of pressure off of Suna's hospital, and Hinata was full of pride upon leaving her little classroom for the final time. She could see the results of her efforts in her students, ones who had transformed from barely-skilled medic ninjas to fully fledged medics, capable of handling themselves in even the most dire situations.

She was proud of them, and proud of herself.

Gaara was harder. He'd hold her at arm's length during the day, stay distant from her, kept communication to a minimum, in order to distance himself from her. She didn't blame him for it. It would make their eventual, inevitable departure easier for the both of them to bear.

Nights were the hardest. He'd hold her like he was holding on for dear life, face buried in her hair as if to part from it would be to forget her forever. She'd hold him back, fingers threaded through his, back pressed flush against his stomach, like they could sink into oblivion together if she'd only hold him a little tighter.

She knew it would only make leaving him just that much harder, but she couldn't help herself. She'd go to bed every night, intent on sleeping somewhere else, and always find herself outside his door. But this couldn't work. They couldn't work. It was nigh impossible. Their responsibilities were bigger than they were. Hinata's future lay in Konoha, as Heiress and eventual Head of the Hyuuga Clan. Gaara's present and future lay in Suna, as its Kazekage.

He never asked her to stay, and she was glad of that, because she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't say yes. He knew that their future couldn't exist. They were pawns of fate, destined to fill roles they'd both agreed to, no matter how much that hurt them.

When the morning of her departure came, he didn't come to the gates to see her leave. He'd left his (their) bed before she'd woken, and she hadn't seen him since. She wasn't sure whether him kissing her one final time was reality or a result of wishful dreams.

She travelled to Konoha with Temari. The oldest Sand Sibling had told her that it was about time she came and saw that stupid genius and demand to know where they stood (Hinata envied the fact that Temari could actually leave Suna should she and Shikamaru decide to be together). Hinata was grateful for the company, though she and Temari didn't talk too much.

Then finally, six months after leaving it, Konoha's giant gates swam into view on the distant horizon. And despite how terribly she'd miss Suna, she was glad to be back. To be home. She had missed the leaves as they fell from the giant trees, and how there wasn't enough sand to get into every crevice of her belongings. She was excited to go out at midday without fearing sunstroke, or go out at midnight without needing a dozen layers to keep her warm. (She'd miss those things too, but she wasn't about to admit that to herself).

Hinata left Temari at the gate to report to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi had received constant reports from Suna regarding her progress, and told her that he was incredibly proud of her accomplishments. That she had represented Konoha very well, and he would seriously consider her for any future missions that would require a highly skilled medic, especially if Sakura were unavailable.

Hinata thanked Kakashi profusely, bowing her way out the door.

And then she was walking back to the Hyuuga Compound, towards her father and the truth she would make him reveal to her.

Trepidation tingled in her fingertips. Her heart was hammering loudly in her chest, nerves constricting her lungs so it was hard to breathe. Hanabi was waiting at the gate that led to the Compound, arms crossed, and Hinata could see the scars from Hinari's blade on her skin. She waited until Hinata was next to her, then started to walk beside her, quiet during Hinata's approach.

Once they were inside the Compound, she asked: "Are you going to ask father about Hinari?"

Hinata nodded, feeling a little sick.

"I'm coming with you," Hanabi said, a statement, not a question, no room for argument.

Hinata nodded again, glad for her sister's support.

"He told the Clan that the men he sent to Suna were killed. He hasn't said anything about Hinari, though. I think he's waiting for you."

They were silent after that, and when Hinata reached her father's office she walked straight in, disregarding etiquette that required she knock. Her father had lost that privilege, she felt.

He was sitting at his desk, writing, filling out documents, and didn't look up at her entry.

"You need to tell me about Hinari," Hinata demanded, no greeting, no tremor or stutter in her tone. She wouldn't play around with niceties, she'd come here for the truth and wouldn't leave until she had it.

Hiashi didn't take his eyes off the paper, didn't say a single word. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, his pen scratched away at the document, and when he finished, he folded it carefully, placed it inside an envelope, sealed it, signed it, laid it aside, and then finally looked at his two daughters.

He looked older than she had ever seen him, though she couldn't find it within herself to pity him. As far as she was concerned, the terror that had ensnared Suna was his doing. Hinari had been the one to wield the knife, but she never would have had he brought her into his home and his safety. He was responsible for every single life that had been lost, and now she needed to know what had prompted his carelessness and caused so many people to die.

He said nothing, merely stared at the two of them.

Hinata had to swallow her rage, knowing it would get her nowhere.

"I know you know about her, father. I saw the letter you wrote her. 'You are not mine. You are unnatural. You are not welcome. You are a freak.' What on earth prompted you to write that to her? She was seven years old, begging for your home and love. How could you write that to her? She was your _daughter,_ what -"

"She was _not_ my daughter," Hiashi barked, finally speaking, having lost his cool demeanour. Hinata stayed silent and Hiashi ran a hand through his thinning hair. "She was not my daughter," he repeated, this time his words softer. "She was Hana's though. Hinari was your half-sister. The daughter of your mother and my brother, Hizashi."

Hinata and Hanabi were shocked into silence. Hiashi didn't speak again for a while, his movements were agitated, and though he didn't get out of his chair he couldn't sit still either.

Eventually he spoke again, his words slow and calculated, every one said with a purpose. "Before you can know why I did what I did, you need to know what happened before that. First of all, and something neither of you know, is that your mother and I were not originally supposed to be married. She had had an older sister, Hina, and I was betrothed to her, while Hana had been promised to Hizashi. That had been arranged since before we could remember, and we had accepted that. But two months before Hina and I were due to be married, she was killed on a mission. It was an accident, only a C Rank mission. But she died, and the Hyuuga Elders decided that I would marry Hana and Hizashi would marry another Hyuuga woman.

"Secondly, and something I feel that you doubt, is that I cared for your mother very much. She was a good woman, a wonderful mother, and a talented Kunoichi. Eventually I even came to love her. And while Hana certainly respected me, she had loved Hizashi for years, and he her. She could never love me the way she loved my brother." Those last words were spoken with bitterness, and Hiashi's opalescent eyes swam with memories. He continued, his tone unravelling into something less formal, less factual, more story-like.

"They stayed away from each other for a long time. But when Hizashi's wife died birthing Neji, Hana couldn't stay away from him. At first it was just comforting him, rekindling a friendship, and it stayed that way for a number of years. But, as it was bound to, it developed further, and they began an affair soon after you were born, Hanabi. I knew about it. I knew that when she left me in the middle of the night, thinking I was asleep, it was to see my brother. And Gods I hated it, but I thought that maybe in time she would learn to love me. That if I was good to her, and treated her right, that maybe she would love me. But she hated the way I pushed you, Hinata. And I admit I took a lot of my rage at your mother out on you. You're the spitting image of her, every time I looked at you I saw her and her adultery.

"But as long as no one else in the Clan knew about it, it could be kept under control. No one else need know about it.

"That fell to pieces the night Kumo attempted to kidnap you, Hinata. They were discovered by the Elders, and they demanded that Hizashi and Hana be punished for their crimes. The opportunity for Hizashi came almost immediately, as Kumo demanded my life for that of their ninja who I had killed. Hizashi offered himself, as we were identical, and the Elders accepted his offer. The Clan would be told that he had sacrificed himself for me and the welfare of the Clan, and in taking his own life he would restore his honour after having had an affair with Hana.

"Hana was more difficult. The Elders wanted to banish her, but I fought them. I begged them. I had already lost my brother, I couldn't lose my wife as well. It worked, at first. Until she found out she was pregnant with Hizashi's child. I could handle everything else, but I couldn't handle seeing the result of my wife and brother's affair, every single day. It was the cruellest stroke I'd been dealt. Hana said that we could raise her together, as if she were mine, but I… couldn't. I banished her myself. I sent her to Suna. We weren't enemies, Suna was probably the closest thing Konoha had to an ally at the time, and though I couldn't bear to have her here anymore, I didn't want her to be in danger.

"And then she died birthing the child, and a rage filled me like no other. My brother and wife were both dead because of their horrid affair, and Hinari was the result of that. She should never have been born. She was a freak."

He finished his story, eyes averted from them.

"Do you see now why I couldn't accept her? I didn't ever wish so much harm to befall her, but I couldn't have her come here, calling me her father. It would be like rubbing salt into an open wound. I had to deter her from ever wanting to come here. I couldn't bear the thought of raising my brother and wife's love child. I wasn't strong enough."

He fell silent, and Hinata felt that he wouldn't say anything more on the matter. But that information was all she needed, that final piece of the puzzle slotted into place.

She and Hanabi left her father's study quietly, gently closing the door behind them. "Would you like to see her grave?" Hanabi asked as they walked along the Compound, each lost in their own thoughts. "She's next to mother's grave marker." Without needing an answer, Hanabi led her sister towards the Hyuuga graveyard. Hinata picked a few flowers on their way, though the flowers were little more than weeds. She would come back again later with something more suited.

"I'll be receiving my Curse Seal within the week," Hanabi said quietly, and Hinata could detect a note of fear in her voice. "On your birthday, in fact. When you turn twenty. Apparently you'll be taking your vows soon after and a husband will be chosen for you."

Hinata felt sick, though this time for an entirely different reason.

"I'm sorry," said Hanabi, and looked at Hinata with pity. "I wanted to give you a little warning. I know that this will be really hard for you."

"It's my duty," said Hinata stiffly, her voice rigid. "I will do what I must."

They reached Hinari's grave and Hinata paid her respects, placing the flower-weeds next to the gravestone and promised to bring nicer ones next time.

As she left, she could have sworn that a small tendril of wind wisped through her hair, tangling through the inky strands like fingertips.

* * *

The day Hinata turned twenty was not spent celebrating. They tried, but Hinata would have none of it. Instead, she spent the time preparing Hanabi for the ritual that would give her the Curse Seal.

Hinata could see the gargantuan effort it took for Hanabi to remain calm. She knew that the poor girl was terrified, and it took all of her strength to not run to her and hold her tight within her arms.

It was a long, arduous process, one that would begin as the sun rose and end at dusk.

The final part of the ceremony before Hanabi would have the Seal engraved into her forehead required Hanabi to swear fealty to Hiashi, as the Hyuuga's current Head, and Hinata, as the Clan's future Head.

Hinata was dressed in her most formal attire, seated on a dais at her father's right hand side on a chair slightly lower than his. The Hall was crowded with Hyuuga, waiting to welcome their newest Branch Member.

The far doors opened, and Hanabi, who wore only a simple white shift, entered slowly. She looked exhausted, and Hinata wanted nothing more than to call the whole ordeal off.

Somewhat selfishly, she was very much aware that after today, any possible future she could share with Gaara would be impossible.

Hanabi reached the centre of the Hall and dropped to her knees, hands fallen limp at her sides. She started to recite the words that would cement her loyalty and her fate.

"To the great Clan Leader, Hyuuga Hiashi, I do hereby and henceforth swear my fealty to thee. To have our Great Dojutsu, the Byakugan, sealed upon my death so that the secrets and safety of our Clan may not fall into the hands of those who would otherwise manipulate its power. Do you accept my offer of loyalty?"

Hiashi inclined his head. "I do," he said, then watched as Hanabi turned towards Hinata.

"To the great Clan Heiress, Hyuuga Hinata, I do hereby and henceforth swear my fealty to thee. To have our Great Dojutsu, the Byakugan, sealed upon my death so that the secrets and safety of our Clan may not fall into the hands of those who would otherwise manipulate its power. Do you accept my offer of loyalty?"

Hinata broke out in to a sweat, all eyes on her. _I do,_ she thought to herself, two such simple words and ones that had gotten stuck. She could see the fear in Hanabi's eyes, how her hands tremored beside her, the movement so imperceptible as to be invisible.

And Hinata quickly found that she _couldn't_ accept Hanabi's offer. Purely and simply because Hanabi wasn't the one who should be making it. Hinata knew that, in truth, their roles should be reversed. Hanabi wanted to be Head of the Hyuuga Clan more than anything else in the world. It was what she had worked for and dreamed of her entire life, and though she was certainly still immature and had a lot of growing up to do, that would all come in time. Hanabi's future lay in being the Heiress and eventual Head of the Hyuuga Clan. It lay in Konoha.

And Hinata's future? She wasn't quite sure, but it wasn't there.

"I do not accept your offer, Hanabi," said Hinata, loud and clear and confident. "Because you are not the one who should be making it." She stood up and turned to her father and the Hyuuga Elders, all of whom were staring at her, mouths agape. "I am sorry father, but I cannot fill this role that you wish for me. I do not want it, and as I love our Clan, I also know that they deserve a Leader who wants to lead them. Beloved Elders, I humbly request that you rescind my status as Heiress to the Hyuuga Clan and instead bestow that right upon my sister, Hanabi. She wants and deserves this more than I ever could, and honestly, would do a far better job of it than I would."

The Elders turned to each other so as to deliberate, but Hinata didn't hear what they said because before she knew what was happening, Hanabi had tackled her into a hug, tears streaming down her face while _Thank you_'s poured from her mouth like a waterfall. Hinata felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she hadn't felt so free and relieved for as long as she could remember.

* * *

The Elders agreed to her request after a week of arguments, and another week later saw Hinata begotten with a Curse Seal, one which her bangs thankfully hid easily.

She wasted little time after that packing a small bag with a few essentials and receiving permission from Kakashi to head back to Suna for an unknown period of time.

And then she was off, running as fast as her legs would carry her, back towards her little city of extremes and the man who resided there who she had come to love.

When she finally arrived she was sweating up a storm and parched beyond belief, though she barely noticed these things. She instead made a beeline straight for the Kazekage Tower, and begged Temari and Kankuro be silent when they saw her.

Divesting herself of her travelling essentials, Hinata slowly climbed her way deep into the Tower where she knew Gaara was sitting in his office, working at his desk, filling out papers and signing forms and overseeing the wellbeing of Suna. She wondered if he had missed her like she had missed him.

* * *

The month after Hinata left had been one of the hardest months of Gaara's life. He felt lost, unsure what to do in her absence. She'd filled a hole he didn't know existed, and since she had gone it was as if the hole had re-opened, swallowing everything inside of him until there was nothing left but an empty husk.

Gods, but he missed her.

Though he wouldn't admit that to anyone. He was too proud for that. So instead he locked himself away in his study and poured his very being into ensuring Suna was the greatest city it could be.

A city was a wonderful distraction.

A knock sounded at his door, soft, hesitant, and Gaara ignored it. He didn't want to see anyone. He didn't want anyone to see him like this.

They knocked again, the same soft knock as before.

"I'm busy, come back later," he said, not looking up from the pile of papers on his desk.

He heard a soft _thump_ as the person leaned their forehead against the door, and they knocked again, a final, slightly more insistent knock.

He sighed, and opened the door.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading guys. I really hope you enjoyed my story! If you could pretty please leave a little review it would mean so much to me. Thank you again to everyone who has supported me throughout this story, whether it's with beautiful reviews, constructive criticisms to help me improve, or just a general **_**Hurry Up and Update!**_** I am so incredibly appreciative.**

**All my love to everyone, I hope you're all okay because you're all beautiful and deserve to be happy.**

**Much love, Alia xoxoxo**


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